Nearly 4,000 NASA employees have opted to leave the space agency through the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, NASA said on Saturday.

NASA’s workforce is undergoing one of its largest reductions in decades, with nearly 4,000 employees choosing to resign through a deferred departure program backed by the Trump administration.

In a further indication of Congress' position on the SLS and Orion programs, lawmakers set aside more than $4 billion for the procurement of SLS rockets for the Artemis IV and Artemis V rockets in the reconciliation bill signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this month.

Nearly 4,000 NASA employees have opted to leave under Trump’s Deferred Resignation Program amid leadership shifts, budget cuts, and growing concerns about agency direction.

More than 20% of staff file resignations amid downsizing and unclear direction, local media reports - Anadolu Ajansı

"NASA is being dismantled now, treating the President's budget request as marching orders rather than proposed legislation," Finch said. "Damage is occurring rapidly, daily. Although Congress is signaling bipartisan support to fund NASA, by the time they have an FY 26 budget passed, the damage will be widespread, fait accompli."

A new Earth-observing satellite, built by NASA and India’s space agency, will be sent into orbit on Wednesday.