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In a Friday afternoon email to NASA staff, the agency’s acting chief asked employees to embrace the philosophy of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as workers express concern over recent directives and anti-diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) communications.
In her email, NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro said she acknowledges recent executive orders and directives — which include sweeping changes to federal hiring practices and guidance to abandon projects that promote diversity — are “weighing on many of you” and encourages workers to seek support.
The email, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, also asks workers at the federal agency to take “some inspiration from the spirit of the ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’” which is helmed by Musk — who as SpaceX CEO is a federal NASA contractor — and “lean into this new opportunity to maximize efficiencies.”
The email also ticks through specific changes that have been implemented in recent days, with Petro recognizing “the volume of updates can feel overwhelming.”
The recent changes include NASA disabling a feature that allowed employees to add pronouns to their email display names, a return-to-office mandate, and sweeping offers for buyouts and a deferred resignation program — part of Musk’s efforts to dramatically downsize the federal workforce.
Three sources familiar with the matter — who asked to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive issues — spoke with CNN and called many of the changes and shifting information a “distraction” from NASA’s primary goals.
One source told CNN that scrubbing DEIA references — in internal and external communications — is a massive undertaking. They said the use of language about diversity was widespread “given that inclusion was made a core value at NASA under … the previous Trump administration. And with inclusion being a core value, it’s pretty natural that people would have inclusion as part of what they were expected to demonstrate they were doing as part of their jobs.”
Notably, the effort to land the first woman and person of color on the moon with NASA’s Artemis III mission, slated for mid-2027, began and was advertised extensively during President Donald Trump’s first term.
It’s not clear how many NASA personnel plan to accept buyouts or early retirement. A federal judge paused a Thursday deadline for federal employees to declare their intentions as more proceedings on the program’s legality play out.
The sources who spoke with CNN noted that communication from leadership has been disjointed, and there is a general lack of clarity about the space agency’s direction. However, some of the people said they did not blame Petro as they viewed her role at the helm of the agency — where she must bridge the gap between an incoming presidential administration that has expressed hostility toward the federal workforce and NASA’s scientists and career professionals — as a difficult position.
The sources also expressed concern about DOGE and Musk’s association with the department, though none of the people said they had directly interacted with DOGE personnel or had special knowledge of the department’s intentions.
As CEO of SpaceX, Musk holds billions of dollars’ worth of contracts with the government and NASA specifically. The space agency contracts SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, for example, to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station on a biannual basis.
US Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California — the ranking member of the committee on science, space, and technology — and US Rep. Valerie Foushee of North Carolina — the ranking member of the space and aeronautics subcommittee — penned a letter to Petro saying the risk Musk and DOGE pose to NASA is “unique” because of the “vast conflicts-of-interest.”
“Our immediate concern is to ensure that the integrity of NASA’s secure system, including any classified data managed or accessed by the agency, is being preserved,” the letter states. “Furthermore, NASA possesses highly sensitive proprietary data related to the capabilities and contractual obligations of its contractors — some of whom are or could become direct competitors to SpaceX.”
CNN reached out to Petro by email for comment. A spokesperson for the space agency responded, saying, “NASA has received the letter and we’ll respond directly to members of Congress.”
The congresswomen also asked Petro to answer a series of questions by next week, including whether DOGE personnel have attempted to access sensitive data.
Petro, who was the head of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center launch facilities in Florida, was a surprise pick to serve as interim chief of the agency.
Jim Free, who has held a variety of agency roles and is currently associate administrator, had been the presumptive successor after Biden-era NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stepped down in January. Free was even briefly named as the acting administrator on the agency’s website.
Petro is expected to lead the agency until a new administrator is confirmed by the Senate. Trump’s pick to run NASA, Jared Isaacman, is a billionaire tech CEO who also has extensive ties to Musk and has twice paid to fly on SpaceX missions.
CNN’s Zachary Wolf contributed to this report.