NASA | Pakistan

The United States space agency Nasa will lose about 3,900 employees under President Donald Trump’s sweeping effort to trim the federal workforce, at the same time as he prioritises plans for crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. In an emailed statement, Nasa said around 3,000 employees took part in the second round of its deferred resignation programme, which closed late on Friday. Combined with the 870 who joined the first round and regular staff departures, the agency’s civil servant workforce is set to drop from more than 18,000 before Trump took office in January to roughly 14,000 — a decrease of more than 20 per cent. Those leaving Nasa on the deferred resignation programme will be placed on administrative leave until an agreed departure date. An agency spokesperson said the figures could shift slightly in the coming weeks. “Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organisation and work to ensure we remain fully capable of pursuin...

U.S. President Donald Trump will soon announce a new candidate to serve as administrator of NASA, the White House said on Saturday, but did not explain why initial nominee Jared Isaacman was no longer in the running. Semafor, citing two people familiar with the matter, had earlier said the White House would pull Isaacman’s candidacy. […]