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“This is perhaps the most uncertain future NASA, since the end of Apollo,” Casey Dreier speaks to me on the phone. Dreier is the head of the Space policy Planet Societya nonprofit that encourages the exploration and study of space.
On July 10, the Senate Operating Committee met for discussion Federal trade, justice and science budget provided 2026. Reported on the average financing for NASA 0.3 percent Since the beginning of 2010, the total annual spending of the federal government has called on President Trump, 24 percent reduction in the activities of the year. By any metric, his plan would be destructive.
Adjustable for inflation, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into space in 1961. It will leave NASA with the smallest labor force in 70 years. All this is at a time when the agency returns to the moon and to bring the first people to Marsa.
“In this level of this level there is no precedent in this level, functionally inseparable and dramatic cuts. At one year old, you lose one-third of all active science projects. [The Trump administration is] Only a good science but offer to turn off missions that perform a unique and invaluable science. This is not for some radical new science efforts to reset the money. No, the money went, “said Dreier.” It can be said that in the history of space agency, NASA is the greatest threat to its scientific activity. “
When some missions say it will not be possible to replace, Dreier does not exaggerate. One of the losses of Trump’s cuts would New horizons Probe. He gave us our new horizons in 2015 See the best of the pluto Always. Four years later, he played the farthest Flyby History of mankind. As the work stopped, this is the only active space ship in the Kuiper belt in one region of our solar system, which is not well understood by scientists. If NASA begins to work on a replacement, it would be a generation to get new horizons for this vehicle. It cost NASA $ 14.7 million a fraction in a year to continue the operation in $ 29.9 billion Execution and detained operations in the additional financing Congress, the President recently issued a tax account.
Another mission that is impossible to replace is Osiris-Apex. If the name is acquainted, Osris-Apex is an incredibly successful continuation of NASA’s Osris-Rex Flight. The Space Ship visited in 2020 Show 101955An ancient asteroid in the size of the Empire State Building, used an example of regololis (rocks and dirt) from the surface using a previous previous technique.
Osris-Rex successfully returned the sample to the groundNASA decided Expand the mission of the spacecraft And another asteroid, 99942 apophis. In 2029, the Apophis will be 19,600 miles from the ground. This will be the closest approach to the size of any well-known asteroid. NASA will add $ 200 million to a mission, which has already costs about $ 1.16 billion.
“This project is a pennies in the sale of the existing spacecraft. This is the only American spacecraft that will be in the apophile for one and for all in a time,” said Dreier. “It’s important to know.”
At a time when American life increases, the potential cancellation of the NASA mission can be distant, but the intestines of the Agency’s science budget will affect the ripple to communities in the United States.
“NASA is an engine for work in the country, and there are many for every NASA work, there are many generated workforce,” said Bethany Ehlmann, a professor of planetary science at the Institute of California Technology. The Planetarya Society also serves the board.
Professor Ehlmann’s Claim NASA is supported own information. In 2023, the agency used the total 17,823 full-time official. With the support of NASA’s private sector, the agency’s missions were responsible for 304,803 jobs along all 50 state and Colombian region. Put another way, NASA supports at least 16 private sector works for equivalent work in the letter of a NASA. “Space science has been widely supported and has affected three-quarters of three-thirds of each Congress region,” he said. “It’s not just a red or blue thing.”
Last week, after the Senate meeting, the politicians who were on both sides said they were re-pushed by President Trump to NASA budget. Tuesday, Subcommittee on trade, justice, science and related agencies of the House Purchase Committee The financing has passed the bill This will provide NASA of $ 24.8 billion for 2026, 2026 or this year. A week ago, the relevant subcommittee in the Senate passed its own NASA financing bill.
The two versions differ in a critical detail. Senate legislation keeps the agency’s science budget at $ 7.3 billion, and the home version increased by 18 percent to $ 6 billion. Separately, the house calls a 23 percent cut for National Science Foundationthe budget. NSF, most of the nation’s astronomy research.
“I understand how important NASA was in the industry. They understand how important the grants, which are the next generation of generation and the next generation of the Space Workforce. The house and the Senate must reach an agreement to advance the bill.
In the favor of the NASA’s budget, a flat budget is still financing when inflation in favor of many MPs. Moreover, NASA has already negatively affected the efforts of the Trump management to cut the federal workforce.
According to his report Policy The 2,694 NASA employees published on July 9, agreed to leave the agency with an early pension, a purchase or deferred resignation. These people are employees of 2,145 people in major positions and employees serving in areas of missions such as 1,818 people. “After the workforce went, they went. You lose a ton of institutional knowledge,” Dreier said. Workers agreed to postpone about 15 percent of NASA’s 2023 employees to 17.823. For early pension, voluntary separation and deferred resignations, the probability of increasing this number by July 25 is approached soon. NASA Changing priorities Trump has also created uncertainty under the leadership Among agency contractors.
According to the former NASA employee and Follow NASA Creator Keith is already affected by employees. “I’ve been involved in NASA in 40 years or another, I never saw it so bad.” “NASA inflated? Yes, but the road dealing with the leak, you are still careful with a scalpel. You still have people [like Elon Musk] stand on stage with a chain. This is not a way to run the government and is not a way to create a machine you need to explore the universe. “
Whatever the next, Dreier NASA has a potential to be eroded in state support. Pointing to the point of a questionnaire PEW was published by investigation. In 2023, the monitoring of asteroids and watching the planet’s climate change in the organization and the planet was two activities that NASA wanted to be prioritized over other mandates. In contrast, human astronauts were the least important priorities for the public to send astronauts to the moon and Mars.
The home version of the NASA’s 2026 budget will increase the agency’s exploration budget by 25 percent to $ 9.7 billion. Trump included a language worth $ 4.1 billion for the Senator TED Cruz (R-TED Cruz (R-TX), the fourth and fifth flights Space launch system (SLS) Rocket – The vehicle that leads to the first NASA astronauts before the private sector alternatives such as the Space Starship is ready to fly.
Both Trump Administration and Homes and Mars and Mars were prioritized, Dreier says that the private sector is ironically reduced in its performance – Spacex says Send people to Mars – and just to leave the things NASA doing. There is no private sector company that makes space science. “
In fact, a NASA budget for scientific research instead of mars missions would be something that invested in things that say the public is the least important for it.
“I am concerned that the people of the Space agree will be worried about their expectations and violate the state investment in NASA as a result,” he said. “NASA is usually connected to each other for one or two most famous federal agents.
If you want to comment on this story, Bethany Stevens, NASA spokesman, administrator actor Janet Petro NASA shared Exgadget for a letter Technical supplements The President was published along with the budget requirement.
“We must continue to be responsible managers of taxpayer dollars. It also means making strategic decisions or reduce efforts to make compatible efforts with the moon and Mars intelligence priorities.” He wrote Petro.
The final NASA budget for 2026 is still months. After the voting on Tuesday, the two financing vote will pass to the Committees of the Senate and the house of the house for the aftermost adjustments. Only after that, each member of each camera will win a chance to vote for the issue. Organizes the congress to complete the process of appropriations before financing 2025 by September 30. If President Trump does not match with their priorities, the law may also decide to veto the bill.
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