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Thomas Zurbuchen in Washington (recording from 2018)
Photo: piemags / IMAGO
The Swiss science director of NASA, Thomas Zurbuchen, wants to leave the US space agency at the end of the year.
Zurbuchen and NASA announced that he would give up his post after around six years.
"Thomas left an indelible mark on NASA," said Nasa boss Bill Nelson.
"Now is the time for change and an opportunity to give other great leaders a chance to push the boundaries and take our program to new heights," Zurbuchen wrote on Twitter.
He told the Swiss broadcaster SRF: »When you work for an organization like NASA, the matter is more important than the person.
I keep observing that there comes a time when you have to go«.
He is the science director who has stayed in this office the longest.
»But it is also a fact that what I can learn every day has diminished more and more over time.
I'm someone who likes to learn new things.« Now he wants to take a break and »go skiing safely«.
Zurbuchen was born in 1968 in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, studied physics and mathematics at the University of Bern, later went to the University of Michigan in the USA and joined NASA in 2016, where he was responsible for more than 100 scientific missions.
According to NASA, a successor is now being sought.
In the summer of this year, Zurbuchen spoke to DER SPIEGEL about the moment when scientists received the first images from the depths of the universe from the James Webb telescope.
“I see the universe as no one has seen it before.
I wasn't the only one with tears in my eyes.« Read the whole interview here.
ani/dpa
