The Space Advocate Newsletter, May 2026

This month

Rejection can be sweet.

On April 3, as astronauts rounded the Moon for the first time in half a century, the White House again proposed draconian cuts to NASA, including a 46% reduction to space science. On May 12, a mere 39 days later, the House of Representatives moved to reject those cuts, advancing a budget that preserved NASA's top-line funding and reversed the bulk of the cuts to science.

This is a breakneck pace by congressional standards. Last year, the House didn't release its full appropriations details until mid-September; this year, we got them by mid-May. But the opposition to these cuts goes deeper. In the three hearings held by Congress in late April, members of both parties — including all committee leadership — made their displeasure known. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, as a member of the administration, gamely attempted to defend the proposal but found no converts. The Planetary Society engaged with members and staff ahead of each hearing. We provided key information that had not otherwise been made available by the administration, including our list of the 53 science missions marked for termination.

That doesn't mean everything is perfect in the House budget that passed last week. It still includes an 18% cut to NASA science, directed almost entirely at Earth Science. Planetary Science and Astrophysics would remain unchanged from last year.

In formal written testimony we submitted to the House Appropriations Committee, we made our position clear: Those cuts to science, while certainly better than the disastrous 46% cut proposed by the White House, would still be detrimental to U.S. space science and would not serve the public interest.

The Senate has yet to release its version of NASA's fiscal year 2027 spending bill, though it is expected in the coming weeks. We expect the Senate will also reject top-line cuts to NASA and provide stronger science funding overall.

I could not help but think of how important our Day of Action was this year. We welcomed 136 Planetary Society members from across the country just days before the first budget hearings were held in Congress. Their efforts brought four new members to the Congressional Planetary Science Caucus and engaged nearly half of all congressional offices with passionate support for space science and exploration.

They found a Congress ready to act. A Congress ready to reject the shortsighted, destructive, and small-minded budget proposal mindlessly recycled by the White House. There are still months to go before any appropriations are finalized, but the intent is clear: This proposal will not go forward.

Until next month,

Casey Dreier
Chief of Space Policy
The Planetary Society

Want to do something?

Our Save NASA Science Action Hub tracks the latest updates to the effort to stop these cuts, with actions you can take right now to engage Congress.

What I’m reading this month

Flagships on a budget

A Goddard team proposes "flaglets" — $1–2B missions that could answer most Astro2020 priority questions without waiting decades for the next great observatory. Combined with Roman's on-time, under-budget September launch, it's the start of a credible counter to the "flagships are dead" narrative.

What comes next for Artemis?

Clear-eyed insight on NASA's revised Artemis architecture.

Astrobiology on the Moon: Learning About the Early Earth While Preparing for Mars

This whitepaper argues that the Moon — not known for its fertile environment — could still provide helpful data for our efforts to understand life beyond Earth.