The Department of Space just reversed a 2020 policy that let centres approve resignations, now requiring all requests to go through Delhi. This isn’t just about attrition; it’s about losing irreplaceable expertise at the worst possible time. ISRO says projects will continue, but replacing minds who ran 1 lakh+ Moon landing simulations? That’s harder than hiring fresh engineers. The agency is recruiting 1,050 new staff; but experience can’t be trained overnight. As India races to land humans on the Moon, its most valuable resource might not be rockets... but the people who built them.