About 3,870 employees have applied to depart NASA over two rounds through the Trump administration's deferred resignation program, the agency disclosed.

Nearly 4,000 NASA employees have opted to leave under Trump’s Deferred Resignation Program amid leadership shifts, budget cuts, and growing concerns about agency direction.

NASA’s course reversal on firing about 1,000 probationary employees in February was hailed as a victory for those opposing cuts to the space agency’s civil workforce, which in January comprised more than 18,000 personnel. According to the latest update, however, NASA could be 20 percent smaller by January 2026.

A letter of dissent titled "The Voyager Declaration," with hundreds of signatures from current and former NASA employees, said: "Thousands of NASA civil servant employees have already been terminated, resigned, or retired early, taking with them highly specialized, irreplaceable knowledge crucial to carrying out NASA's mission."

The US space agency NASA will lose about 3,900 employees under Donald Trump's sweeping effort to trim the federal workforce—at the same time as the president prioritizes plans for crewed missions to the moon and Mars.

NASA plans a 20% workforce reduction as nearly 4,000 employees opt for voluntary resignations under Trump-era efficiency measures.

NASA Faces Major Talent Exodus as 3,870 Staff Opt for Voluntary Resignation - Nearly 3,870 NASA employees have opted for voluntary resignation as part of a federal workforce

In a sweeping move under the Trump administration’s directive to streamline federal agencies, NASA is set to lose nearly 3,870 employees through a voluntary resignation programme, raising concerns about talent drain and mission safety.