NASA Eliminates Chief Scientist and Other Jobs At Its Headquarters (nytimes.com)
- Reference: 0176670505
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/03/11/004258/nasa-eliminates-chief-scientist-and-other-jobs-at-its-headquarters
- Source link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/science/nasa-chief-scientist-fired-katherine-calvin.html
> The cuts affect about 20 employees at NASA, including Katherine Calvin, the chief scientist and a climate science expert. The last day of work for Dr. Calvin and the other staff members will be April 10. [...] The eliminated positions include the chief technologist and chief economist for the agency, which were part of the technology, policy and strategy office. Chief technologist positions at NASA centers like the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida are not affected, the notice said. The agency is also cutting several positions related to diversity, equity and inclusion in its Office of Equal Opportunity. The notice said that NASA estimated severance costs would be about $1.2 million.
>
> "To optimize our work force, and in compliance with an executive order, NASA is beginning its phased approach to a reduction in force, known as a RIF," Cheryl Wheeler, a NASA spokeswoman, said in an email. "A small number of individuals received notification Monday they are a part of NASA's RIF." Eligible employees could opt for early retirement, Ms. Wheeler said. The Democratic House staff members said they worried deeper cuts at NASA would follow.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/science/nasa-chief-scientist-fired-katherine-calvin.html
[2] https://www.nasa.gov/ocs/
Re: (Score:1, Interesting)
seems like you have no idea what a chief scientist actually does. why would they need to be a specialist in any of those things you mentioned?
With your complete lack of understanding about what people do in their jobs, you should apply for a role at DOGE.
Re:Well, not unreasonable actually (Score:4, Insightful)
> chief scientist, Katherine Calvin. ... is a climate change specialist. ... climate change is important (and real), but it is only (loosely at best) related to NASA's mission, which is to explore space
Ya, it's not like NASA studies Earth's climate from space. Super good thing we don't *all* live here. And it's not like her experience studying complex systems could possibly translate to other NASA mission areas or studying climates on other planets... Areas of expertise don't have to be one-to-one to be useful across an organization, especially higher up where big picture and cross-department issues come into play.
Re: (Score:2)
Do you know what the first A in NASA stands for?
Re: (Score:3)
> Do you know what the first A in NASA stands for?
[raises hand] Ooo... Ooo... I know! "ASA" [pats self on back]
:-)
Re: (Score:2)
She needs to apply in la Presidenta's EPA? in what alternate reality do you think the current EPA gives a two-headed rat's fart about climate change?
Re: Well, not unreasonable actually (Score:2)
Why should NASA worry about saving earth if we will all be flying to Mars in a few years, right?
top kek right you dumb fuck (Score:1)
goodbye everything good in the world
Re: (Score:2)
All that science standing in the way of our perfect future after all.
Chief scientist (Score:2)
Why would NASA need to have a chief scientist?
After all its not rocket science.
20 whole people? (Score:4, Informative)
Meanwhile... The apportionment for DOGE grew from $6.75 million to $14.4 million between January 30 and February 8, and ProPublica notes that it's now up to $40 million as of February 20. Hopefully it won't keep doubling every 2 weeks ...
[1]Elon Musk's DOGE office budget more than doubles from $6.5 to $14.4 million [businessinsider.com]
[2]DOGE’s Millions: As Musk and Trump Gut Government, Their Ax-Cutting Agency Gets Cash Infusion [propublica.org]
Rick Sanchez: [3]I can just feel the savings. [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-doge-doubles-budget-2025-2
[2] https://www.propublica.org/article/doge-trump-musk-funding-foia-congress-transparency
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JsCPZnqnX0
Needs to be asked on a serious level (Score:5, Insightful)
Nobody is really asking this:
-> Is it normal for a golden age to have job loss and decline in most people's stock market/retirement portifolio?
-> Is it wise to hand over rule to billionaires, whose goal in life is to make as much money as possible. People who couldn't stop accumulating wealth at $10 million, $100 million, or even $1 billion now expected to give up their lust for money?
- Musk claims to be saving trillions of dollars from being spent at by the government .. where is all the money he's seizing? He keeps saying there are 20 million dead people in the social security database still getting checks .. that should be at least $40 billion a month he's been able to seize .. so where is that money? AT $500 billion saved this year, come next year every American should be getting a check for $1500 .. and that's just from eliminating the checks for those non-existent 20 million people. Add to that USAID closure, DOE shutdown, federal workers discarded and I better see a fact check of at least $10K. Anything less and that muhfuh is pocketing that shit and you know it.
Re: (Score:3)
> Musk claims to be saving trillions of dollars from being spent at by the government .. where is all the money he's seizing? He keeps saying there are 20 million dead people in the social security database still getting checks .. that should be at least $40 billion a month he's been able to seize .. so where is that money? AT $500 billion saved this year, come next year every American should be getting a check for $1500 .. and that's just from eliminating the checks for those non-existent 20 million people. Add to that USAID closure, DOE shutdown, federal workers discarded and I better see a fact check of at least $10K. Anything less and that muhfuh is pocketing that shit and you know it.
Simple answer is (a) he's lying, (b) he's uninformed, (c) both. The dead people getting SSI money has been *thoroughly* debunked, even by the head of the SSA, but it's a good sound bite so he and Trump keep repeating it -- even though Elon is supposedly a coder and should understand. On a related note, as far as all the firings go, even firing *all* federal workers would only cut about 4.75% from the annual budget and an incalculably small amount from the total deficit. (see below) The DOGE stuff is all
Re: (Score:3)
> The DOGE stuff is all political theater to justify/support more tax cuts for rich people and corporations;
I forgot to add, reducing federal staff to (a) hamstring all the agencies regulating and/or investigating Musk's companies, namely SpaceX (FAA), Tesla (NTSB, SEC) and X (CFPB, SEC) and (b) reduce the ability of the IRS to audit wealthy tax cheats (usually with very complex returns).
[1]Elon Musk's DOGE takes aim at agency (CFPB) that had plans of regulating X [wbur.org]
[1] https://www.wbur.org/npr/nx-s1-5293382/x-elon-musk-doge-cfpb
Re: (Score:2)
The money is coming out of the deficit.
And for the sake of clarity, that deficit is created by an organisation that has the options to steal people's money and to just print more money without impunity.
Pluck them to the bone.
Re: Needs to be asked on a serious level (Score:2)
Thank you, I was beginning to grow concerned about the lack of right wing talking points under this article.
Re:Needs to be asked on a serious level (Score:4, Insightful)
People are asking, but nobody in power is interested in answering any of these questions. This gang learned that you can blatantly lie and fool people and not have to answer to anybody. They claimed that immigrants were eating cats and dogs in Ohio. That was a massive lie before the election. Did anybody apologize for it?
For these people, there are no consequences for lying. Only benefits. So, they keep doing it. Did you hear that Ukraine started the war with Russia? We all had it wrong all along. And Putin is the good guy. And the west is the baddies. Also Canada is evil and must suffer the consequences.
We are in for 4 long years!
Re: (Score:2)
> come next year every American should be getting a check for $1500
That's neither how the tax system works is a normal country, nor is it how finance works in a country that has a $34trillion national debt.
But the reality is dumber than you realise. DOGE was originally posting receipts of their "savings". Turned out that most of them were wrong, not actual savings, and in one case transposed million to billion and thus off by a factor of 1000x. I do wonder if Elon thought he was buying Twitter for $44million and tried to back pedal when someone told him what the real numbe
Re: Needs to be asked on a serious level (Score:2)
Well, in Leons defense, he did send me a check for 100 bucks. Thanks for the weed, Elmo!
Dear Lord (Score:2)
Hi there, Lord, I have never asked for much but this time we really need a solid. Could you please find it auspicious to send Elmo to Mars? He really wants to go, and we really need him to go. We promise to give him a great send off....maybe even use one of his own rockets.
Re: (Score:2)
> Hi there, Lord, I have never asked for much but this time we really need a solid. Could you please find it auspicious to send Elmo to Mars?
Hi there gtall,
I Only Help Those Who Help Themselves.
Signed,
The Lord.
Re: Dear Lord (Score:2)
I dont want to start any blasphemous rumors, but I think that God has a sick sense of humor.
To be replaced with what? (Score:2)
> NASA Eliminates Chief Scientist and Other Jobs At Its Headquarters
Space Karen strikes again!!!
Another all too breathless story (Score:2)
The New York Times and The Washington Post are the two places permanent Washington leaks to in an effort to steer public opinion. We're supposed to get all excited about some big scary threat to SCIENCE and members of congress and the administration are meant to get spooked and quickly roll this back, leaving as many of the permanent unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats in place in DC as possible.
For context: NASA has about 18000 employees, so we're not exactly talking about a massacre of NASA staff, and
make NASA doge again. (Score:4, Insightful)
Prime Minister Musk has absolutely no conflict of interest here?
Re: make NASA doge again. (Score:2)
None whatsoever!
Re: (Score:2)
A blunt knife can still get the job done. NASA, like all bureaucracies was top heavy anyways. If there's anything good thing about it, it's that this fanaticism is cutting both ways. Not just from the bottom, they are also cutting from the top. History is not pretty, it's often a hack and slash business. We think we are so civilized yet our quest for domination and control shows us in the true light.
Just saying.