NASA Goddard Director Lystrup Leaving Amid 25% Budget Cut

Makenzie Lystrup, the director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is stepping down effective August 1 after leading the center since April 2023. Her departure coincides with the Trump administration's proposed 25% budget cut to NASA, significantly impacting the agency's science division and prompting thousands of employees to leave. Goddard, NASA's largest science-focused field center, manages key missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble, and the under-development Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Cynthia Simmons, the current deputy director with 25 years of experience at Goddard, will serve as acting director following Lystrup's exit. The announcement came shortly after the release of “The Voyager Declaration,” an open letter signed by hundreds of NASA employees criticizing recent policy changes as politically driven and harmful to NASA's mission. Additionally, other NASA centers like the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have faced workforce reductions and leadership changes amid the budget uncertainty.