NASA is losing four key senior officials close to its flagship moon program, according to people familiar with the changes, adding more uncertainty over the agency's space exploration trajectory as Elon Musk and President Donald Trump play up missions to Mars.

NASA faces uncertainty in its moon program as four senior officials retire, including Jim Free, associate administrator. The shift increases unpredictability amid Elon Musk's Mars mission ambitions and potential policy changes under President Trump's influence.

Four NASA senior officials working on the agency’s moon program, Artemis, will retire this week. These officials were part of the team that succeeded in launching Artemis I as “the first flight test of the integrated Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket,