The agency’s science programs will see a 50 percent decrease, with a reduction of 20 percent in NASA.
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope – which is fully created and scheduled to launch in 2027 – can be canceled if the proposed NASA budget of Trump administration is implemented. Credit: NASA
NASA could see a 20 percent cut in its overall 2026 budget, the funding for its science division slipped in half, if the initial budget proposal from the White House is implemented. Cut, among other effects, will cancel several missions and close NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
The proposed deduction was placed in an internal document, called a passback, which was sent to NASA on Thursday with the White House Office of Management and Budget. According to reporting by Tech technica And Washington PostThe Passback asks NASA to cut $ 5 billion from the total budget of $ 25 billion.
Under the proposed budget, NASA’s Astrophysics Division will decrease from $ 1.5 billion to $ 487 million, decreasing by 68 percent. NASA’s solar science division will show a similar reduction. The budget for Earth science will reduce 50 percent to $ 1.033 billion, and planetary science will get a 30 percent deduction to $ 1.929 billion.
According to reports, NASA’s James Web Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope will remain funded and operational. However, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, designed to conduct an infrared survey of the Farway Galaxies and the young exoplanetary system, will not get any funding – already to launch in 2027 and despite being slaughtered in 2027, Cuts NASA’s Mars Samples Returns Program and Davini Mission will also cancel Vinus.
In addition, Greenbelt, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland – which plays a major role in the agency’s research and spacecraft building – can see all its 10,000 employees closed.
NASA’s proposed cuts – long rumors in the astronomical community – the agency came out after ending 23 posts last month when it closed his office, policy and strategy, main scientific office and a branch of the office of diversity and equal opportunity.
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what comes next
On receiving the passback, there are 72 hours to submit an appeal and justification under the leadership of NASA. The White House will then include it in the budget request of the President later in this spring before depositing the Congress.
Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives will then review and edit the budget for all federal agencies before preparing the final draft in October 2025, which is the beginning of the financial year.
The Opposition in the Congress is likely to be fulfilled in the Congress budget, where NASA has many strong supporters. In March, several American senators introduced a NASA Authority Bill, the aim to ensure that the science and space exploration of the agency is a priority. This bill will set the budget of the agency in $ 25.5 billion. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ted Cruzas (R-Texas) were one of the bipoal group, who pushed to the bill.
In response to the passback cut, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) said in a statement today that it was “seriously worried”. The AAS warned that if the cuts are done, in space science will be “destructive” under the leadership of the country, and that the private sector is unlikely to be damaged. AAS President Dara Norman said, “These cuts will definitely cause a loss of American leadership in science.”
