NASA Faces Uncertain Future as Proposed Budget Cuts Threaten Science Missions
NASA is staring down one of its most uncertain futures in decades, with proposed budget cuts threatening to derail critical science missions and weaken the agency’s workforce. Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, warns that the scale of these cuts is unprecedented, potentially crippling NASA’s ability to conduct essential research.
The Trump administration has called for a 24 percent reduction in NASA’s budget for 2026, which would leave the agency with its smallest inflation-adjusted budget since 1961. Nearly half of NASA’s science budget would vanish, forcing the cancellation of 55 ongoing or planned missions. The cuts would also shrink NASA’s workforce to its lowest level in 70 years—just as the agency is tasked with returning humans to the Moon and eventually reaching Mars.
Among the casualties would be the New Horizons probe, the only active spacecraft in the distant Kuiper Belt. New Horizons revolutionized our understanding of Pluto and continues to explore uncharted territory. Shutting it down would mean losing irreplaceable data, as a replacement mission would take decades to reach the same region. Similarly, OSIRIS-APEX, an extended mission to study the asteroid Apophis during its close Earth approach in 2029, would be scrapped despite its minimal cost compared to the scientific value it provides.
Beyond lost research, the cuts would ripple through the economy. NASA supports over 300,000 jobs nationwide, with every agency position sustaining 16 private-sector jobs. Bethany Ehlmann, a planetary science professor at Caltech, emphasizes that NASA’s work fuels innovation and training for the next generation of scientists.
Lawmakers are pushing back. The House and Senate have proposed funding bills that reject the steepest cuts, though disagreements remain—particularly over science funding. The House version slashes NASA’s science budget by 18 percent while boosting exploration spending, despite public surveys showing Americans prioritize asteroid monitoring and climate research over Moon and Mars missions.
Meanwhile, NASA’s workforce is already shrinking due to early retirements and buyouts, with morale at historic lows. Critics argue that indiscriminate cuts, rather than strategic adjustments, are eroding the agency’s capabilities.
The final budget remains uncertain, but the stakes are clear. If NASA abandons its science missions to focus solely on exploration, it risks alienating public support—something the agency has long enjoyed. As Dreier warns, NASA’s unique role in space science cannot be replaced by private companies. The coming months will determine whether Congress can preserve the agency’s mission—or if NASA’s golden age of discovery is coming to an end.
