A Singular Image: Leaving NASA – Too Soon
Leaving NASA
Mamta Patel Nagaraja
Keith’s note: the following was posted on LinkedIn by Mamta Patel Nagaraja, who was NASA Associate Chief Scientist for Exploration and Applied Research – until that office was closed last month and everyone was laid off. Her words remind me of the time when I decided to leave NASA. But the image – as they say – speaks a thousand words. It stopped me in my tracks. I asked if I could post this and she said “Yes, of course”. FWIW Speaking from experience you can leave NASA – but it never leaves you.
- “I said goodbye to the OG yesterday. I’d love to tell you that I held my head high, but I have never painted a rosy picture online that wasn’t actually rosy. Yesterday was sad. Angering. Relieving, dare I say- after all, I left a toxic atmosphere. Emotionally perplexing indeed. But overall, sad. I always imagined a happy exit from NASA, either retiring or choosing to leave for bigger opportunities. Alas, as I promised you, I’ve dreamed again and you’ve helped. In countless ways. I’m thinking about creating my own company, I’ve got a few startups who want to chat, a prospect where I could help prevent another pandemic, and maybe even a chance to inspire young kids to explore the unknown. And I’ve only been a free agent for one day! Things are looking up – I’ll update you soon on which path I travel next. And if I haven’t responded to your message yet, I will. I just needed to get through my last 30 days at NASA. To new beginnings!“
5 responses to “A Singular Image: Leaving NASA – Too Soon”
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My heart breaks for you Mamta
Yep. I’m facing a similar situation, probably will be RIF’ed soon. I’ve been at NASA for nearly 30 years, at least I won’t be there to witness the destruction of so many wonderful things. My memories of serving with brilliant workforce, dedicated to the betterment of humanity, will remain intact.
So sorry to see this Mamta. Also on behalf of ASEI.
SMD should not be cut in such a large manner. Short-sightedness.
This sucks for current employees. While I was ready to go after 35 years (in 2021) for personal reasons (I felt like life was passing me by), I did not dislike what I was doing and certainly could have stayed. But now I am sooo glad I was able to leave on my own terms. I would certainly have been at the top of the RIF list. NASA does need reform, especially on the Human Space Flight side, but the anti intellectualism of this administration is astounding. It goes far beyond just punishing “liberal universities” for their perceived DEI threats. I predicted “uncontroversial” things like space science/planetary missions would be largely spared, but wow was I wrong.
My heart hurts for Mamta and all NASA employees that are affected by this Administration’s decisions. I never thought in my lifetime that I would see the United States move in the direction it is moving – anti-science, anti-intellectualism, anti-equality.