NASA’s acting leader, Janet Petro, announced that a special group called DOGE, led by Elon Musk, will review how NASA spends its money. She mentioned that many NASA employees accepted a buyout plan offered by the government.
DOGE will look at NASA’s payments and spending to find areas where costs can be cut, similar to what they’ve done in other government agencies. Musk’s SpaceX works closely with NASA, holding contracts worth about $15 billion. These contracts help send astronauts to the International Space Station and prepare for moon landings using SpaceX’s Starship.
When asked about possible conflicts of interest with Musk leading DOGE, Petro reassured that NASA has strict rules to prevent this. The agency will check any DOGE employees for conflicts before they start working on NASA matters.
A small team of Trump administration officials is already reviewing NASA’s different science and space programs, which make up NASA’s $24 billion yearly budget. Petro said everyone is trying to understand the many new executive orders coming their way.
There are concerns about NASA’s plan to land humans on the moon, especially with changing priorities around Mars missions. DOGE is likely to focus on saving money from NASA’s expensive programs, like the Space Launch System rocket. This could be tricky because this rocket supports many jobs in states where Republicans have a strong presence.
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