NASA Goddard Director Steps Down Amid Sweeping Budget Cuts

(MENAFN) Makenzie Lystrup, the leader of NASA’s largest science center, is set to step down next month amid sweeping budget reductions, according to recent media coverage.

Lystrup, who has served as director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for just over two years, will leave her post on August 1, Ars Technica reported Tuesday.

Her exit coincides with the Trump administration’s proposal to slash NASA’s total funding by 25%, dealing a severe blow to the agency’s science operations.

"We’re grateful to Makenzie for her leadership at NASA Goddard for more than two years, including her work to inspire a Golden Age of explorers, scientists, and engineers," said Vanessa Wyche, NASA’s acting associate administrator, in an official statement.

Following Lystrup’s departure, Cynthia Simmons, currently Goddard’s deputy director, will step in as acting director.

Goddard, NASA’s largest science-oriented field center, oversees critical missions including the James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the in-development Nancy Grace Roman Telescope.

Simultaneously, a letter dubbed “The Voyager Declaration,” signed by hundreds of NASA employees past and present, has emerged, condemning recent policy shifts as wasteful, politically motivated, and detrimental to NASA’s core goals. While notable, no direct connection has been confirmed between this letter and Lystrup’s resignation.

Elsewhere, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California—NASA’s primary center for robotic space missions and managed by Caltech—has also experienced turmoil. Facing budget uncertainty, JPL reduced its workforce by over 10% in 2024, and its director, Laurie Leshin, resigned in June.

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