The director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Joseph Pelfrey, announced his resignation from the role on Thursday, CNBC confirmed.

Pelfrey said in an email to employees at the space agency that as NASA focuses on its mission to return humans to the moon, it will be "important for agency leadership to move forward with a team they choose to execute the tasks at hand."

The email also said Pelfrey would work with NASA leaders to "pursue new ways" to "serve our space program and our great nation." Pelfrey wasn't immediately available to comment.

NASA confirmed Pelfrey's resignation and said in an email to CNBC that the agency is proceeding "with a public, open competition to find the next permanent director at one of the agency's most important centers for human spaceflight."

At Mar

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