NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen Announces His Resignation As Science Chief

The changing of the guard has come for one of NASA's higher-ups.

The space agency's associate administrator for science, Thomas Zurbuchen, has recently announced his resignation from his position as he felt it is now "the time for change."

Zurburchen's resignation comes as NASA is focusing on sending its astronauts back to the moon through its Artemis missions, according to a Reuters report.

Zuburchen Resignation Details

Zuburchen mentioned in a NASA blog post and on his official Twitter account that he is stepping down as NASA's associate administrator for science by the end of 2022, marking the end of his tenure in the space agency.

According to the Swiss-American astrophysicist, his decision to step down as NASA's science head was due to him believing that doing so was best for NASA and that now was "the time for a change."

He also said that his resignation would give other people the chance to "push the boundaries" and take the program NASA's science team is working on to new heights.

He also believes that it is the best decision for himself. According to Zuburchen, he is at his best when learning new skills or gaining new leadership experiences. With him achieving the goals he set out to do as science chief, he will only further struggle with the other goals he made even if he stayed longer.

The Swiss-American astrophysicist stated that he didn't have an easy time reaching his decision as he loves working with NASA's science team.

Despite announcing his resignation, Zuburchen is still willing and able to lead NASA's science team by continuing to go "with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space."

Zuburchen also mentioned that he is NASA's longest continually serving associate administrator of science, with the Swiss-American astrophysicist serving as NASA's science chief since October 2016, per Space News.

This start date means that Zuburchen will end his career at NASA in his sixth year as its science chief. During this time, he oversaw nearly 100 science missions, was instrumental in 36 new missions including Dragonfly, SPHEREx, and was also important to the Mars Sample Return Mission, per a separate NASA Blog post.

However, being the longest serving is not what Zuburchen is aiming to do as science chief. Instead, he wanted to help NASA's science program, which has been intertwined with his career since his days as a graduate student.

"Thomas has made an indelible mark at NASA - indeed, he has held this job continuously longer than any other person - and I am thankful for his dedication to our agency," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

NASA is conducting a nationwide search and open competition to find Zuburchen's successor.

Zuburchen's Next Steps

Zuburchen plans to take a break from work after he resigns as NASA's science chief, saying that he wants to "spend time with family and friends, skiing on the Utah slopes, and going to the gym."

He also wants to talk about his experiences working with NASA to other people, along with the experiences and skills he learned as a leader and a scientist.

He did admit that he is bad at finding a new job, though he doubts there will be a "cooler job" than being NASA's science chief once he resigns.