Space Agency’s Funding Could Hit a 60-Year Low

The US government has cut NASA’s funding to the lowest it’s been since 1961… and more than 40 space missions are being sacrificed to make up for it. Programs on the chopping block are not just future concepts; many are spacecraft that have already been paid for and even launched.

While the potential budget cuts have been public knowledge for months, NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Dr. Nicky Fox confirmed that the agency is getting ready to enact the changes during her opening presentation at the Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City. Scientists warn the shutdown would be nearly irreversible, requiring decades and billions to restore.

Among the most vulnerable projects is the Mars Sample Return mission, which has already collected sealed samples through the Perseverance rover. Without funding, those samples may remain on Mars indefinitely. Other affected programs include asteroid research probes, climate satellites, and Earth monitoring systems.

One of the cuts is aimed at NASA’s radioisotope power systems (RPS) program, which produces the nuclear batteries required for missions to the outer solar system. These batteries power spacecraft in environments where solar energy is unreliable, including the Voyager probes that are still transmitting from interstellar space. Ending the RPS pipeline would place future flagship missions, including a long-anticipated Uranus probe, in jeopardy.

The fallout extends far beyond just technology. Reports indicate that up to 4,000 NASA employees, including more than 2,000 senior leaders, may leave through buyouts or early retirements. Advocacy groups are urging Congress to step in, but the proposed cuts have already created instability inside NASA. Over 300 employees signed “The Voyager Declaration,” a letter denouncing the cuts as reckless and wasteful.

Global rivals are moving in the opposite direction. Russia continues to maintain nuclear space power capabilities, while China, India, and Europe are advancing their own programs. With Europe already experimenting with americium-241 batteries, US scientists argue that dismantling NASA’s RPS program effectively surrenders leadership in deep-space exploration.

FMI: www.nasa.gov