The Planetary Society reissues urgent call to reject disastrous budget proposal for NASA “This budget is a retreat, a narrowing of ambition.” Pasadena, CA (May 30, 2025) —The White House’s FY 2026 congressional budget justification for NASA, released today, is an extinction-level event for the space agency’s most productive, successful, and broadly supported activity: science.
These consequences are not limited to a handful of space science centers — NASA science is everywhere, positively impacting 87% of congressional districts in all 50 states.
This request represents the smallest NASA budget since FY 1961 — a level enacted before the first American had launched into space.
And absent a National Space Council, it is unclear which enduring national interests were considered in this budget.
The Planetary Society believes that a great nation deserves a great space program, one that reflects our national ideals and serves the public interest.
The Planetary Society is calling for a resounding rejection of the disastrous NASA budget proposal.
A retreat and a reduction in ambition characterize this budget. “”.
Pasadena, CA (May 30, 2025) — Released today, the White House’s FY 2026 congressional budget justification for NASA is an extinction-level event for the space agency’s most successful, productive, and widely supported activity: science. It will undermine STEM outreach and education, harm the agency’s highly qualified workforce, and scuttle national priorities. NASA science has a positive impact on 87 percent of congressional districts across all 50 states, so these effects are not just confined to a few space science centers.
We also need to take note of the following, even though this budget is doomed when it reaches Congress.
1) This budget is a retreat, a reduction in aspirations. The NASA budget is the lowest since FY 1961, when the first American space flight was accomplished. This budget takes pride in what the country is incapable of doing, in contrast to that period of expansion, great ambition, and audacious vision. It says we can’t work with our allies, lead the world in deep space exploration, or invest in our scientific and industrial workforce. We steadfastly oppose this derogatory assessment of our country. A national representation of our capabilities is NASA.
2) Efficiency has nothing to do with this budget. This plan puts a stop to further exploration and wastes billions of dollars in taxpayer investment. It ends worthwhile and fruitful projects like the vital planetary defense mission OSIRIS-APEX and space exploration missions like Juno and New Horizons. A third of NASA’s science portfolio, or 41 science projects, will be cancelled as a result of this budget. It would cost billions of dollars to replace these special projects. The drastic and quick depletion of NASA’s resources will result in lower productivity, jeopardize institutional knowledge, and cause economic instability in the US industrial base.
The creation of this budget did not result from strategic policymaking. According to all reports, the Office of Management and Budget did not confer with NASA or its Administrator-nominee when creating this budget. Furthermore, it is unclear which long-term national interests were taken into account in this budget in the absence of a National Space Council. We believe that this proposal is merely an unelected bureaucrat’s personal agenda disguising itself as national policy.
4) The president’s space leadership agenda is compromised by this budget.
President Trump has declared his commitment to “making sure America remains at the forefront of advancing space exploration and discovery.”. This budget accomplishes the exact opposite: it destroys NASA, the country’s economic powerhouse, and it deserts allies worldwide, thereby undermining the country’s capacity to lead in scientific discovery.
According to the Planetary Society, a great country should have a great space program that reflects its values and advances the general welfare. This plan not only falls short of that promise, but it actively rejects it, undermining the unique chance NASA offers to foster cooperation internationally and unity domestically through American leadership.
