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There are plans to cut NASA’s budget in the US by 23%, and science funding by almost half

There are plans to cut NASA’s budget in the US by 23%, and science funding by almost half

Katerina Melnychenko Deputy Editor-in-Chief

14 April 2026, 17:15

There are plans to cut NASA’s budget in the US by 23%, and science funding by almost half — The NASA logo at the agency’s headquarters, against the backdrop of reports of possible budget cuts

The White House’s new budget request for the 2027 financial year proposes a 23% cut in NASA’s overall funding and a reduction of nearly 47% in the agency’s scientific programmes. Space experts have already described this initiative as a serious threat to American science.

This is reported by Space.com.

According to the new budget request, funding for NASA’s science directorate could be reduced from $7.25 billion to $3.9 billion. At the same time, it is proposed that the agency’s overall funding be cut by 23%.

The Planetary Society has criticised not only the scale of the potential cuts but also the format of the document itself. The organisation’s chief space policy expert, Casey Dreier, stated that this is the least transparent NASA budget request of all those he has analysed since 1960.

According to him, the document does not specify which missions are proposed for cancellation, nor does it include funding levels from previous years. It is precisely for this reason, Drayer argues, that the extent of the cuts can only be understood by comparing them with previous budgets.

He also drew attention to large but vaguely described expenditure items. In particular, the draft includes a line item for ‘Martian technologies’ worth $438 million without a detailed explanation or cost breakdown. The article notes that this sum exceeds the entire budget of the heliophysics division.

Space.com reports that if the proposal is approved, over 40 scientific projects could face cuts – that is roughly a third of NASA’s entire portfolio. This includes both missions still under development and spacecraft already in operation.

Among the projects that, according to Dreyer, could be cancelled again are New Horizons, OSIRIS-APEX and Juno. The cuts also affect international programmes, notably the US contribution to the Rosalind Franklin mission – the second mission of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars programme.

In Dreyer’s view, this approach could weaken international partnerships, as the US risks losing its reputation as a reliable partner in space science.

At the same time, the budget maintains support for crewed flights, primarily the Artemis programme, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon by the end of the decade. The article also notes that Artemis 2 launched on 1 April and became NASA’s first crewed lunar mission since 1972.

Critics of the initiative stress that the focus on manned programmes comes at the expense of fundamental science. Dreyer emphasised that there is no viable private alternative for space science missions, as they require significant investment, a long time to implement and lack a stable commercial market.

Nevertheless, the final decision rests with Congress. The article notes that similar cuts have been proposed before, but lawmakers did not support them. Last year, Congress approved $24.4 billion for NASA for the 2026 financial year, and over 100 members of the House of Representatives signed a bipartisan letter calling for increased funding for the agency’s scientific programmes.

The Planetary Society has already relaunched its ‘Save NASA Science’ campaign and is urging supporters of space science to contact Congress, take part in the Days of Action on 19–20 April, and support the organisation’s advocacy programme.

As reported by ThePublic, NASA has sent a crewed mission to fly around the Moon for the first time in over half a century. The Artemis II crew comprises four astronauts who are set to fly around Earth’s satellite and return in around 10 days.

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