NASA fires its number one scientist, Katherine Calvin

NASA announced Tuesday the dismissal of its chief scientist and 22 other officials to comply with President Donald Trump's cuts mandate. The restructuring comes on top of other government actions affecting climate change research.

The U.S. space agency reported that more staff reductions are coming, and it eliminated the Office of the Chief Scientist, headed by Katherine Calvin, a renowned climatologist who contributed to key United Nations climate reports.

NASA also abolished the Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility division.

Agency spokeswoman Cheryl Warner said some eligible employees will be eligible for the voluntary early retirement program.

Other NASA agencies

So far, NASA has avoided the deep cuts affecting other agencies. The same positions at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida have not been touched.

In February, the agency was to lay off about 1,000 probationary employees, but Jared Isaacman, Trump's nominee to head NASA, requested a suspension of the cuts, according to Ars Technica.

Several people familiar with the White House's proposed reductions said the cuts to NASA's Science Mission Directorate could be as high as 50 percent, the science magazine story reviews.