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WG3K > ANS 24.06.25 00:04z 39 Lines 1906 Bytes #999 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : ANS173.4
Read: GUEST
Subj: NASA Science Missions Could Be Cut In 2026 Budget
Path: HB9ON<DK0WUE<PD0LPM<IR0AAB<VK2RZ<W0ARP<WW4BSA<VE3CGR<NC8Q<W9GM<WW6Q<
WG3K
Sent: 250623/2338Z 19048@WG3K.#SMD.MD.USA.NOAM LinBPQ6.0.24
President Donald Trumps fiscal 2026 budget request, if approved by
Congress, would kill many of NASAs plans for robotic exploration of the
solar system. Gone, too, would be multiple space-based missions to study
Earth, the sun and the rest of the universe.
Among the planets that would get less attention are Venus, Mars and
Jupiter. But the planet facing the biggest drop in scrutiny from space is
our own. The Trump budget proposal calls for reducing Earth science funding
by 53 percent.
Also spiked: a mission that would take a close look at Apophis, a jumbo
asteroid that will pass just 20,000 miles from Earth closer than
geosynchronous satellites on April 13, 2029.
The White House Office of Management and Budget said in its request that
NASAs current spending of more than $7 billion a year on nearly 100
science missions is “unsustainable.”
The Planetary Society, a nonprofit advocacy group for space science,
estimates that 41 current or planned missions, roughly a third of NASAs
portfolio, would be terminated if the Trump budget is approved as written.
Trumps proposals would hammer the NASA workforce, triggering the loss of
thousands of civil service and contractor positions.
Congress has the power of the purse, however, and could save missions
targeted for termination. The Senate Commerce, Space and Transportation
Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), is pushing to protect much
of NASAs funding but is primarily concerned with saving existing elements
of the agencys Artemis moon program. On Thursday, the committee proposed
restoring billions of dollars to a variety of NASA projects.
The full article, with a descriptive list of projects that might be cut,
may be found at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/06/08/nasa-budget-voyager-space/
(possible pay wall).
[ANS thanks *The Washington Post* for the above information]
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