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Save NASA Science - Action Hub
NASA’s science program is facing a staggering 47% budget cut in 2026. If enacted, dozens of missions would be terminated, scientific progress halted, and the nation would surrender its leadership in space science.
We must push back and protect this unique capability.
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Latest Updates
May 15, 2025 | 4:21 p.m. PT
Planetary defense is funded by NASA science, too
Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
The House Space & Aeronautics Subcommittee held a hearing on Planetary Defense, one of the core areas of interest here at The Planetary Society. We took the opportunity to submit a letter for the record, highlighting the amazing progress of this field in the past 20 years, but reminding the committee that this activity is funded by NASA Science, which is facing a 47% cut next year. It’s a good reminder: funding science isn’t just about the value of discovery; it’s in our self-interest.
May 14, 2025 | 9:20 a.m. PT
Everyone can sign our new petition in support of NASA and space science
Jack Kiraly, Director of Government Relations
In mid-June, the U.S. Congress is expected to begin official deliberations on the NASA budget for FY 2026. To show policymakers the immense public support for NASA and space science during this critical moment, The Planetary Society has launched an online petition. Unlike our direct congressional messages, signing the petition is not limited to U.S. residents. Space advocates from around the globe are encouraged to sign.
May 6, 2025 | 9:39 a.m. PT
Signatories more than double as official budget cuts come into view
Jack Kiraly, Director of Government Relations
In the span of less than one week, the number of signatories on the joint letter to Congress has doubled to 18. The list now includes the Scientific Society for Astrobiology, the Aspiring Martians podcast, Maryland Aerospace Alliance, Mars Foundation, National Space Society, Agnostic Life Finding Association, Satellite Industry Association, and the letter’s first student signatory, the Aggie Space Initiative at University of California, Davis. This influx of support from throughout the country represents the growing public rebuke of the reckless cuts to NASA and the U.S. science enterprise being proposed by the Office of Management & Budget, officially announced last Friday.
May 2, 2025 | 11:54 a.m. PT
Planetary Society condemns historic cuts to NASA
Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
The Planetary Society released its official statement on the FY 2026 White House NASA budget proposal: "Slashing NASA’s budget by this much, this quickly, without the input of a confirmed NASA Administrator or in response to a considered policy goal, won’t make the agency more efficient — it will cause chaos, waste the taxpayers’ investment, and undermine American leadership in space."
May 2, 2025 | 7:30 a.m. PT
OMB proposes to gut NASA—on National Space Day, no less
Jack Kiraly, Director of Government Relations
The “skinny” version of the President’s Budget Request has been released. In it, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) breaks with the Administration’s past support of NASA and proposes the single largest cut to the agency’s budget in American history. The request highlights the withdrawal of support from the space workforce, leading space institutions and centers, and programs like NASA’s education and infrastructure accounts. Mars Sample Return, a mission that is the top priority of the planetary science community, the next flagship for the China National Space Agency, and a penultimate step to human exploration of Mars, is declared cancelled.
May 1, 2025 | 7:30 a.m. PT
Momentum grows as two additional signatories added to letter
Jack Kiraly, Director of Government Relations
Following the release of the joint letter urging Congress to reject drastic cuts to NASA, two leading science organizations have joined the effort. The Open Lunar Foundation and the American Geophysical Union have joined as signatories, bringing the total number to ten. As we await further information about the budget, it’s clear that across the space community, cuts to NASA undermine American leadership in space.
April 30, 2025 | 6:27 a.m. PT
Industry, scientific, and public interest orgs speak up for science
Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
The Planetary Society and a coalition of major industry, scientific, and public-interest organizations released a joint letter today, urging congressional leaders to push back against the potential cuts to space science. The letter, initially signed by the American Astronomical Society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, the Commercial Space Federation, Explore Mars, Inc., The Mars Society, and the Planetary Science Institute, can be read here.
April 23, 2025 | 2:46 p.m. PT
More Republicans speak out against NASA science cuts
Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
Two former Republican members of Congress, Newt Gingrich and Bob Walker, and the Trump Administration's transition team, Charles Miller, released an op-ed calling the proposed cuts to NASA science "reckless" and stating that "world class science at NASA is also critically important to humanity’s future in space." This is an important statement, emphasizing that reversing these cuts is a nonpartisan issue.
April 21, 2025 | 10:39 a.m. PT
The Planetary Society raises awareness of space science cuts in the New York Times
Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
The New York Times published my guest essay today, about the potential threat to NASA’s space science and how it could impact the search for life, undermine our national interest, and represent a symbolic retreat of shared American values. You can read it here.
April 15, 2025 | 10:17 a.m. PT
Letter supporting NASA science circulates Congress
Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
The Co-Chairs of the Planetary Science Caucus, Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Judy Chu (D-CA), are circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter among the House of Representatives that calls for a restoration of NASA Science funding to $9 billion — the inflation-adjusted level reached under the first Trump Administration. You can read the letter here. If you live in the United States, consider writing to your representative asking them to co-sign this letter. We have a pre-written message you can send via our online action center.
April 12, 2025 | 8:30 a.m. PT
Congressional leaders speak out against cuts to NASA science
Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
Members of both parties have spoken out against the potential cuts to NASA science. The Co-Chairs of the congressional Planetary Science Caucus, Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Judy Chu (D-CA), saying that "We will work closely with our colleagues in Congress on a bipartisan basis to push back against these proposed cuts". Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Ranking Member on the House Science Committee, stated, "I will do everything in my power to ensure these reckless proposals never come to fruition." Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee of Appropriations, vowed to "fight tooth and nail against these cuts and to protect the critical work being done at NASA Goddard".
April 11, 2025 | 7:29 a.m. PT
Near-final passback budget shows 50% cuts to NASA science
Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
Passback is when the Office of Management and Budget — the White House's accounting arm — provides a near-final budget proposal to NASA prior to its official release. It's not set in stone, but it's very close to being so. Today, reporting indicates that NASA's passback decimates science: a 50% cut, falling particularly hard on Astrophysics (cut by 70%) and Earth Science (-53%). Planetary Science and Heliophysics suffer cuts that, in any other year, would be considered extraordinary: X and X, respectively.
The reporting, unfortunately, was true. There is still time for the White House to reconsider, but this is a very bad sign.
April 7, 2025 | 11:04 a.m. PT
Acting NASA Administrator calls science cuts "rumors"
Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
Janet Petro, acting NASA Administrator, was asked about the potential cuts at a public event in Colorado, according to SpaceNews. From the article: "she said she has not received any information on the administration’s plans for its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, other than 'rumors from really not credible sources.'" Not exactly a denial, but perhaps a good sign.
March 26, 2025 | 1:27 p.m. PT
The Planetary Society advocates for NASA in D.C.
By Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
More than 100 members of The Planetary Society gathered in Washington, D.C. yesterday to engage their members of Congress in support of NASA science and exploration. While no developments have occurred in the official FY 2026 budget, we remain concerned regarding reports of proposed cuts.
March 7, 2025 | 3:04 p.m. ET
Cuts of up to 50% for NASA's Science Mission Directorate are being reported
By Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy
Eric Berger of Ars Technica reported today that the White House is considering cuts of up to 50% for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. If true, this would be an unprecedented cut to NASA's science activities, and inevitably require dozens of active missions to be switched off, a functional freeze on new projects, and the end of NASA science as we know it. The Planetary Society issued an initial statement strongly rejecting such actions, and will be ready to engage stakeholders of both parties to push back against any cuts, should they be proposed.
As part of this commitment, we have created this running page to track updates and developments on this issue.
Background
On May 2nd, 2025, the White House released its official 2026 spending proposal for U.S. federal agencies, which proposed the largest single-year reduction to NASA's budget in American history: $6 billion, accounting for roughly 25% compared to 2025.
The cuts are wide-ranging, but primarily focused on NASA's science activities, which account for over half of the overall reduction and represent a single-year cut of 47%. Mars Sample Return is explicitly cancelled, as are "unaffordable missions" and "lower priority research." Further details are scant in the provided document.
However, a leaked version of the budget from early April provides insight into how the science cuts are applied:
| FY 2024* | FY 2026 Passback | Change % | Change $ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Science | $2,187M | $1,033M | -53% | -$1,154M |
| Planetary Science | $2,716M | $1,929M | -29% | -$787M |
| Astrophysics | $1,530M | $487M | -68% | -$1,043M |
| Heliophysics | $805M | $455M | -43% | -$350M |
| Science Total | $7,325M | $3,900M | -47% | -$3,425M |
* As of writing, final FY 2025 funding details had not been released.
The consequences of this budget would be severe. The degree of the budget cuts would necessitate many other project cancellations besides Mars Sample Return, likely projects like the Venus missions DAVINCI and Veritas, the Roman Space Telescope, and other missions in early development. NASA would have to terminate dozens of active science missions, currently collecting valuable data, for want of funds, wasting billions in prior taxpayer investment. Funding for basic scientific research almost certainly faces a perilous decline.
Furthermore, the cuts could effectively force the closure of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and threaten the financial stability of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory—two of NASA's preeminent science-focused institutions. There would simply be no missions for them to work on.
The Planetary Society and other organizations have characterized the proposal as an "extinction-level event" that would usher in a functional dark age for NASA science.
What happens next
The full details of the FY 2026 budget proposal will be released in late May, at which point we will know which missions are facing terminations. Congress, ultimately responsible for approving expenditures, must pass appropriations before October 1st, 2026, the start of the U.S. government's fiscal year.
The Senate and House must approve budget resolutions for the coming year, which provides overall spending levels, and then the 12 appropriations committees will write out legislation for each federal agency. Should Congress fail to pass the relevant appropriations bills by October 1st, a continuing resolution (CR) is typically enacted to provide temporary funding and prevent a government shutdown.
While a CR nominally maintains funding at the previous year's levels, it does not guarantee that NASA can access or spend those funds. OMB retains the authority to apportion funds, and tends to do so at a level commensurate with the lowest of all possible budget scenarios. Therefore, even under a CR, OMB could impose the drastic cuts to NASA Science outlined in the budget proposal, severely impacting missions and research programs unless Congress acts swiftly and decisively.
Resources
Background and Talking Points Documents
Charts and Data
Download this chart: SVG | Powerpoint Slide | Raw Data (CSV)
Download this chart: SVG | Powerpoint Slide | Raw Data (CSV)
For questions or inquiries, contact Casey Dreier: [email protected].
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