Trump’s budget cuts could halt decades of progress in space science

For decades, NASA has pushed the boundaries of what humanity knows and what we dare to imagine. From walking on the Moon to exploring the … The post Trump’s budget cuts could halt decades of progress in space science appeared first on BGR.

May 15, 2025 - 04:34

Trump’s budget cuts could halt decades of progress in space science

For decades, NASA has pushed the boundaries of what humanity knows and what we dare to imagine. From walking on the Moon to exploring the distant reaches of our solar system, its missions have transformed science, inspired generations, and exponentially deepened our understanding of the cosmos. But now, that momentum is at risk of being undone by Trump's proposed budget cuts.

On April 25, 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget announced a plan that would slash NASA’s science program by a devastating 47%. Under the proposed NASA budget from President Trump’s administration, dozens of missions—including ones already built, launched, and delivering results—are facing cancellation.

These cuts aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet, either. They threaten to derail some of the most important space science projects of our time. The Mars Sample Return mission is perhaps the most ambitious planetary science endeavor ever attempted.

A concept of the Mars sample retriever that could bring alien germs to Earth

Sure, this joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency has seen its share of troubles. But its goal to bring Martian rock and soil samples back to Earth could offer our best chance yet to find signs of ancient life and understand the planet's dramatic history.

Phase 1 of the mission is already in motion. NASA’s Perseverance rover has been collecting samples since 2021, storing them for a future retrieval mission that is proposed to launch in the early 2030s. If canceled now, we wouldn’t just be walking away from a mission, we’d be abandoning treasure that's already in hand.

And Venus has long been overlooked, despite being Earth's closest planetary neighbor and a cautionary tale of climate gone wrong. Two upcoming NASA missions were finally poised to change that.

DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) is designed to plunge through Venus’s dense atmosphere, seeking clues about whether the planet once had oceans or the conditions for life. VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) would orbit the planet, mapping its surface in unprecedented detail and searching for signs of geologic activity.

Together, these missions could answer fundamental questions about Venus’s past and offer insights into Earth’s future. Cutting them now would delay any serious exploration of Venus by decades.

But it isn't just these missions that are at risk. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is nearly finished. Designed to investigate dark energy, find exoplanets, and deliver ultra-wide views of the cosmos, Roman is over 90% complete, on time, and on budget, yet the Trump administration still wants to cancel it.

Meanwhile, TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) is an active mission launched in 2018 that continues to discover new planets around nearby stars almost daily. Its observations are guiding the search for life beyond Earth. It costs relatively little to maintain, and yet it, too, is on the chopping block.

Trump’s NASA budget cuts aren't just budgetary adjustments, which is the problem. They represent a profound step backward in America’s leadership in space. They risk dismantling decades of progress and throwing away once-in-a-generation opportunities to explore our solar system and beyond just to speed up the possible colonization of Mars, a planet we still know relatively little about.

Instead, we want to cancel missions that would provide fundamental information we need to sustain life on these planets, in favor of being able to put human boots on the ground faster. It's ridiculous. These missions don’t just serve scientists. They inspire students, they fuel innovation, and they expand our understanding of climate, geology, biology, and the origins of life on Earth itself.

They’re the product of international collaboration and public investment, and their cancellation at the hands of Trump's NASA budget cuts would send a troubling message about our commitment to science and discovery.

It’s not too late to act, though. Congress still has the power to reject these cuts, and public pressure can make a huge difference. Exploration is ultimately a choice. In moments like this, we have to decide whether we move forward or let short-term politics compromise our long-term vision.

Let’s not give up on the future of space exploration. It already looks bleak enough right now.

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Trump’s budget cuts could halt decades of progress in space science originally appeared on BGR.com on Wed, 14 May 2025 at 18:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.