Top Nasa exec quits amid internal strife

CAPE CANAVERAL: A top Nasa executive hired in April to guide strategy for returning astronauts to the moon by 2024 has resigned, the space agency said, the culmination of internal strife and dwindling congressional support for the lunar initiative.

Mark Sirangelo, named six weeks ago as special assistant to Nasa Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left the agency as Nasa abandoned a reorganisation plan due to a chilly reception on Capitol Hill, Bridenstine said in a statement.

Two individuals close to the space programme and familiar with the situation said Sirangelo was escorted out of Nasa’s headquarters in Washington after his resignation.

His departure came after lawmakers rejected Nasa’s proposal to create a separate directorate within the space agency to oversee future lunar missions and ultimately develop human exploration of Mars.

“The proposal was not accepted at this time, so we will move forward under our current organisational structure within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate,” Bridenstine said. — Reuters