Pasadena, CA (April 11, 2025) — The Planetary Society, the world’s largest independent space interest organization, issued the following statement in response to reports of the White House’s budget “passback” to NASA for fiscal year (FY) 2026:
 

Days ago, the Administration’s nominee to lead NASA called for a “new golden age of science and discovery” at the agency. The proposed budget from within the White House — which cuts NASA science by 47% — would plunge NASA into a dark age instead.

If enacted, this budget would force the premature termination of dozens of active, productive spacecraft. These spacecraft are unique assets: their instrumentation and capabilities cannot be replaced without billions of dollars of new taxpayer investment. No commercial or private space companies can fill this gap.

This budget would halt the development of nearly every future science project at NASA, wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer funds already spent on these projects, abandoning international and commercial partners, and surrendering U.S. leadership in space science to other nations.

This budget would eviscerate space science research, withering the nation’s STEM talent pipeline by removing opportunities to train future scientists and engineers.

The Planetary Society condemns this proposal for NASA and for NASA science. We urge Congress to swiftly reject this proposal and restore funding for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. We remain committed to joining with all stakeholders to protect and promote U.S. leadership in the scientific exploration of space.

In response to these proposed cuts, The Planetary Society has launched a campaign to urge citizens to write their representatives and voice their concerns. We urge Americans supportive of space exploration to join our campaign and share their support of NASA science at planet.ly/nasacuts.

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Casey Dreier, chief of space policy, is available for interviews. Please arrange with Danielle Gunn, chief communications officer, at [email protected]