Main points
- The White House has proposed cutting NASA's budget for 2027, reducing funding for the Science Mission Directorate by 47%.
- If the document is approved, NASA could lose more than 40 scientific projects, which could undermine the trust of international partners in the United States.
Science at NASA is under threat / NASA
The White House's new budget request for 2027 could seriously change NASA's operations. The document calls for massive cuts, especially in science, which has experts and the scientific community sounding the alarm.
This is reported by Space.com.
Why has NASA's budget drawn such harsh criticism?
The US administration has proposed significant cuts to NASA funding in fiscal year 2027. The agency's overall budget could be cut by 23%, and its science budget could be cut by almost half. In particular, the Science Mission Directorate is proposed to be reduced from $7.25 billion to $3.9 billion, a 47% drop.
The Planetary Society called the document unprecedented in scope and approach. The main complaint is its lack of transparency. According to the organization’s representative, Casey Dreyer, the budget doesn’t even explicitly state which missions are being closed. To understand this, you need to compare it with previous documents.
Moreover, the request lacks standard funding data from previous years, a practice that has been in place for over 60 years. This makes it difficult to analyze changes and actual cuts.
Separately, experts drew attention to the vague cost items. For example, $438 million has been allocated to “Mars Technology” without a detailed explanation of what exactly this money will be spent on. This is more than the budget of the entire field of heliophysics, but there are no specifics.
Another problem is the repetition of old decisions. In fact, this is the same budget that Congress already rejected a year ago. It even has errors: it mentions the termination of the Mars Sample Return mission, which was canceled back in 2026, and there are also inaccuracies regarding funding for the James Webb Space Telescope.
Why is science at NASA under threat?
If the document is approved, NASA could lose more than 40 science projects – about a third of the entire program. Both future and active missions will be at risk. Among them are New Horizons, Juno and OSIRIS-APEX.
The cuts could also affect international projects, including the U.S. participation in the ExoMars mission and the Rosalind Franklin rover being developed by the European Space Agency. According to Dreyer, this could undermine partners' trust in the U.S. as a reliable ally in space programs.
What about flights to the moon?
The Artemis program has maintained support. It was within its framework that the Artemis 2 mission recently took place, the first flight of astronauts to the Moon in over 50 years.
However, experts emphasize: the bet on manned missions is made at the expense of science. Space research has no commercial alternative – it requires long-term investments and does not bring quick profits. That is why it is traditionally funded by the state.
Despite the sharp criticism, the final decision rests with Congress. A similar initiative was already rejected in 2026, and more than 100 congressmen previously supported an increase in NASA science funding. It is expected that lawmakers may oppose the cuts this time around.
Against this backdrop, The Planetary Society has relaunched the Save NASA Science campaign, urging the public to influence decisions by appealing to Congress.