NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has called time on remote working, telling its employees they will be required to return to the office full time.
'Work from home' has been a key feature in many of our working lives since the COVID pandemic, and NASA scientists are no exception.
But in an email to employees, JPL says it is going to transition to "fully onsite work".
The people who make the spacecraft fly
From the Voyager spacecraft that made the first tour of the Solar System, to recent missions like Cassini at Saturn, Juno at Jupiter and the Perseverance rover on Mars, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is responsible for the robotic explorers that investigate our cosmic neighbourhood.
JPL oversees the planning of missions, the design of spacecraft and the engineering of scientific instruments that give scientists the ability to study and better understand the bodies of our Solar System.
JPL's current 'teleworking' – working from home – model is set to end later in 2025, the management have said.
Return to the lab
"We are likely facing a very tough budget environment — this is a time to have all hands on deck and to do everything we can to ensure the best possible future for the Lab," JPL said in an email to colleagues.
"We weighed this decision carefully. As we return, we will focus on cultivating relationship-building, mentoring, spontaneous interactions, and real-time problem-solving — all of which drive our most innovative work and will prepare us to meet the demands of today’s dynamic environment."
The email sent to JPL employees also laid out the timeframe for the full return to the office, stating that those who don't return to full-time office work will lose their jobs.
"General telework employees will have until Monday, August 25 (2025), to fully return to their assigned work location, and remote telework employees — both in and outside of California — will have until Monday, October 27.
"Note that for those who can, we encourage returning to fully onsite work sooner than the required dates. Although rare exceptions are possible, employees who do not return by their required date will be considered to have resigned."
The email said that exceptions to fully-onsite work may be made, but that they will be "extremely rare".
Read the full email via the JPL website
