NASA begins with personnel cuts: What are the consequences for research?

NASA begins with personnel cuts: What are the consequences for research?

NASA is facing a massive wave of discharge: Up to 300 employees are to lose their positions in a reorganization measure that was announced as "optimization of personnel strength". NASA spokeswoman Cheryl Warner announced that this decision was made in accordance with new instructions for the tour and did not rule out that further reductions could follow. The employees concerned include a significant part of the scientific staff, which is responsible for the important data provision for climate and earth research.

This development is particularly alarming, since NASA is not only the largest data suppliers for climate research, but is also in a phase of critical scientific discussions that affect global climate change. This necessity was underlined last year when the employees were held by the Trump government from participating in a UN climate scientist forum in China, such as the Spiegel reported. Scientists who are familiar with the UN reports on climate change could therefore be directly affected by the discharge, which further increases the scope of these measures.

experts warn that the ability of NASA could endanger the ability of NASA to fulfill their public obligations to monitor and analyze climate data. The organization has specialized in providing data from its fleet of earth observation satellites that are used free of charge by international scientists. The loss of many experienced scientists could hit climate research sensitively, since NASA plays an essential role in the provision of this important data, as the