Nasa reports that nearly 3,900 employees will be laid off. This is a result of Trump's sweeping cuts in the government apparatus. The number corresponds to over 20 percent of Nasa's 18,000 employees before Trump's accession.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration proposed that Nasa's budget next year be cut by 25 percent – mainly programs within climate and research. At the same time, they have made an effort to put the first human on Mars.
We will follow our determined fate up among the stars and send out American astronauts to place our stars and stripes on the planet Mars, said Trump when he was sworn in as president.
The USA is also aiming to return to the moon before China, which plans its first manned moon landing before 2030.
The American moon program Artemis has been hit by repeated delays.
In a written statement, Nasa states that with safety as the top priority, they balance the need for a more efficient organization with "ensuring our full capacity to pursue a golden age of discovery and innovation, including to the moon and Mars".
