Following a speech at the Commercial Space Conference on February 12, NASA’s Acting Administrator Janet Petro addressed the ongoing review of agency payments by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The implementation of DOGE, spearheaded by Elon Musk, has caused controversy due to reports of personnel accessing critical systems without proper clearances.
Petro confirmed that DOGE plans to examine NASA’s payments, stating, “We are going to have DOGE come. They’re going to look, similarly to what they’ve done at other agencies, at our payments and what money has gone out.” However, she didn't specify the focus of this review. Concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving Elon Musk and SpaceX, a major NASA contractor, have been raised. Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Valerie Foushee sent a letter expressing these concerns. Petro assured that NASA has "very strict conflict-of-interest policies" to address these issues.
Additionally, Petro addressed the impact of the “Fork in the Road” buyout memo, stating that “hundreds” of NASA employees accepted the buyout, while acknowledging the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Artemis lunar exploration campaign. She clarified that she hasn't lobbied the White House to maintain the current Artemis 2 and 3 missions, emphasizing that “We are executing on our programs of record, which does include Artemis 2 and 3 and beyond.” The confirmation of the newly nominated NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, remains pending, with Sen. Ted Cruz stating that the Senate Commerce Committee awaits the completion of necessary paperwork.
Boeing's announcement of potential layoffs for employees working on the Space Launch System (SLS) due to "revisions to the Artemis program" adds further complexity to the situation.