Nearly 4,000 employees — more than 20% of NASA’s civil servant workforce — have applied to leave the agency under a deferred resignation programme initiated by the Trump administration, NASA confirmed on Friday.

The significant exodus, amounting to 3,870 resignations, comes in two phases of the programme designed to downsize federal agencies and reduce costs. Combined with routine attrition of about 500 personnel, NASA’s total civil servant workforce is projected to decline from around 18,000 to just 14,000.

The Deferred Resignation Program, implemented by the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency early in President Trump’s current term, offered incentives to federal employees who agreed to delayed exits. NASA reported that 870 employees applied during the first round and approximately 3,000 in the second, which closed at midnight Friday.

“Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organization,” NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner said in a statement. She added that the agency remains committed to advancing its long-term ambitions, including lunar and Martian exploration.

The mass departure coincides with mounting budgetary and leadership pressures. A White House budget proposal released in May outlined a 25% cut to NASA’s funding for fiscal year 2026 — down from $24 billion to $18 billion — triggering concerns about the agency’s operational capacity and future missions.

Further complicating the agency’s stability is a leadership vacuum. In December, President Trump nominated billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, closely associated with Elon Musk and SpaceX — a principal NASA contractor — was expected to bring a commercially driven approach to the agency.

However, the nomination was abruptly withdrawn in May, just before a scheduled Senate confirmation vote was to take place. The move came amid a highly publicised rift between Trump and Musk, casting uncertainty over the agency’s direction. Days later, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was named acting head of NASA, but questions remain over long-term leadership.