The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that nearly 4,000 employees will leave through a voluntary resignation program.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will cut approximately 3870 employees through a voluntary resignation plan, which is one of the measures taken by the Donald Trump administration to reduce the size of the federal government. In a statement released on Friday, NASA stated that the number may change as the agency evaluates applications, including cases where employees withdraw from the plan or their resignation applications are not approved. "Safety is always the agency's top priority. While we strive to become a more streamlined and efficient organization, we also want to ensure that we are fully capable of pursuing an 'Golden Age' of exploration and innovation, including missions to the Moon and Mars," NASA said in the statement. NASA provided employees with two opportunities this year to leave through the government's "voluntary resignation plan." The agency stated that after the two rounds of resignation plans end, along with approximately 500 normal personnel departures during the same period, the remaining number of employees is expected to be around 14,000.