Published online 26 March 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.694

News

Edward Weiler named as interim replacement for Alan Stern.

Alan Stern's resignation has shocked the space-science community. NASA

Alan Stern stepped down as head of science programmes at NASA on Tuesday.

NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has named Edward Weiler, currently director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as Stern's interim replacement. Weiler held Stern's post, of associate administrator for science, from 1998 to 2004.

A NASA spokesman says that no immediate reason was given for Stern's sudden departure, which has shocked the space-science community.

“This is terrible news. This is a surprise,” says William McKinnon, a planetary scientist at Washington University in St Louis who is on the science team with Stern for the Pluto-bound New Horizons mission. “I’ve never seen anybody work so hard,” McKinnon says of Stern.

Stern sent an e-mail Wednesday morning to the science-mission directorate. It said: “Yesterday I offered, and Mike Griffin reluctantly accepted, my resignation as associate administrator. I will remain at NASA for a few weeks. It’s been my privilege to serve the NASA and science community, and to work with you. I also want you to know that Mike and I remain on good terms. He remains in my eyes the best administrator NASA has ever had.”

McKinnon’s immediate speculation was that Stern’s departure could have resulted from fallout associated with a struggle with the Mars programme. Stern had cut the Mars programme to help pay for a future mission to the outer planets, and said that the programme would be held accountable for hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns for its flagship Mars Science Laboratory mission, which is due to launch in 2009 (see Mars rovers under strain from cuts). But McKinnon adds that there could be many other reasons, including personal ones.

Stephen Mackwell, director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, says that the episode seems to reflect some strong influence from the Mars community. "One has the distinct feeling that someone pushed pretty hard on Alan and he said, 'No, I won’t be pushed'."