Laurie Leshin, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is stepping down in June and will be replaced by JPL veteran David Gallagher. JPL directors come and go, but Voyager flies on… Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech Leshin was appointed to the top job in 2022 and has faced multiple challenges during her tenure, not least dealing with institutional problems highlighted by the Psyche mission's difficult road to launch, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires that came dangerously close to the facility, and hundreds of layoffs due to budget constraints.
During the November 2024 staff cuts, Leshin cautioned: "We can never be 100 percent certain of the future budget," a comment that seems highly prescient today, considering the cuts proposed in Donald Trump's administration's "skinny" budget, which could result in the ax falling on several high-profile JPL projects, potentially including the Mars Sample Return mission. Leshin's tenure as director was also marked by many triumphs, not least the continued operation of the Mars rovers, flights of the Ingenuity helicopter, and saving the Voyager mission. Leshin, who has also served as a California Institute of Technology (Caltech) vice president, is stepping down for personal reasons and will remain a Bren Professor of Geochemistry and Planetary Science at Caltech.
David Gallagher, previously JPL's associate director for Strategic Integration, has been selected by Caltech to lead the federally funded research and development center. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. Gallagher arrived at JPL 36 years ago.
He led the team that built and tested the Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 (WF/PC-2) – a critical instrument which corrected the spherical aberration on the Hubble Space Telescope – and, among other roles, managed the Spitzer Space Telescope. The Register understands Gallagher was set for retirement, so his appointment is likely an interim one. "We have exciting opportunities ahead," he said, "helping to advance our nation's space agenda and a fantastic team to help realize them."
"Opportunities" is one word for it. Should the proposed NASA budget be passed as is, JPL could face some difficult decisions. Along with the cancellation of the Mars Sample Return, other missions could face termination or scaling back to balance the books.
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