Proposed NASA cuts would decimate space science
By now you’ve probably heard about the overall drastic cuts to science proposed by the Trump administration. This weekend, the buzz is centered on the NASA science program. This is the program that sent the New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond, for example, and found thousands of exoplanets, or distant worlds outside our solar system. NASA released details of its new budget – indicating which missions would be cancelled – on Friday, May 30, 2025. SpaceNews.com reported that same day:
NASA released more information about its proposed fiscal year 2026 budget May 30, outlining new investments in exploration at the expense of canceling dozens of science missions and cutting thousands of jobs.
The documents provide greater detail about the top-level budget proposal from what the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) disclosed in its “skinny” budget released four weeks earlier. NASA published the budget documents on its website late on a Friday with no fanfare and without the traditional budget briefing by agency leadership.
That top-level budget of $18.8 billion would be a cut of about a quarter from the nearly $24.9 billion it received in fiscal year 2025. That is the sharpest year-over-year cut proposed for NASA and would bring the agency’s [overall] budget down to levels last seen in 1961 when corrected for inflation.
With the budget cuts will come jobs cuts at NASA. A table in the budget document notes that NASA has 17,391 direct-funded civil servants in fiscal year 2025, but that would drop to 11,853 under the fiscal year 2026 proposal, a cut of 1/3.
So that is a proposed $6 billion cut to NASA’s budget for fiscal year 2026, representing an overall 24% reduction from the previous year. But planetary science is set to take an even bigger hit. Read on.
Staggering cuts to space science
The Planetary Society is sponsoring a petition that anyone, anywhere in the world, can sign. The petition reads, in part:
The White House’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2026 proposes a shocking 47% cut in funding for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate [reductions to to NASA’s fleet of spacecraft already in space, or proposed]. This represents an extinction-level event for the Earth and space sciences, forcing the needless termination of dozens of productive spacecraft, delaying or canceling on-budget development projects, and reducing opportunities for future scientists and engineers.
To read the entire petition and add your name, visit this page.
Maybe losing these sorts of programs isn’t important to you. But if you’re among those who care, and you’re wondering what you can do about it, read on. For starters, if you’re a citizen of the United States, you can contact your representatives and tell them what you think. And anyone, anywhere in the world, can sign the petition by the Planetary Society.
Keep in mind, that these proposed budget cuts are just that: proposals. Congress must approve the budget. So there is still time to contact your representatives and speak up for science. Here’s how to find your representatives in the House of Representatives. And here’s how to find your senators. Or look up your representatives at the U.S. Congress page.
Here are just a few of the missions facing cuts
Here are some stories about NASA missions that are facing budget cuts and possible elimination:
OSIRIS-APEX mission is headed to asteroid Apophis
New Horizons finds evidence for 2nd Kuiper Belt
Juno spots most extreme volcanic activity on Io to date
The proposed NASA and NSF cuts feel like when ISIS destroyed the monuments of Palmyra with sledgehammers. These things not only pay for themselves, they return several dollars for every $1 spent. Kill the science, kill the spin-offs, startups, patents, talent pool and global influence.
— Dr James O’Donoghue ? (@interplanetary.bsky.social) May 30, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Bottom line: The White House’s proposed NASA cuts would eliminate many existing and future space missions. Anyone from around the world can sign this petition.