Deja vu: Trump proposes cutting NASA science funding by 47% again

A proposed fiscal year 2027 budget for NASA would cut the agency’s overall funding by 23% and slash its science programs by nearly half, prompting strong opposition from the space community.

The Planetary Society, the world’s largest independent space interest organization, issued a statement in response to the release of the FY 2027 top-line budget request for NASA, which would reduce the space agency’s Science Mission Directorate from $7.25 billion to $3.9 billion — a 47% drop that advocates say would be the largest single-year cut to science funding in the agency’s history, according to the statement.

“This proposal needlessly resurrects an existential threat to U.S. leadership in space science and exploration,” officials said in the statement from the nonprofit Planetary Society. “This is a critical period for the U.S. space agency to execute on the ambitious plans to lead the world in science, exploration and innovation.”

The proposal closely mirrors a similar effort during the FY 2026 budget cycle, when the administration put forward nearly identical reductions. That plan was met with bipartisan resistance in Congress, which ultimately approved a $24.4 billion budget for NASA and preserved science funding at roughly $7.25 billion.

Despite that rejection, the FY 2027 request revives many of the same cuts, including a top-line budget of about $18.8 billion. Advocates warn the reductions could disrupt or cancel dozens of missions spanning planetary science, astrophysics and Earth observation — areas overseen by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

The potential impact comes at a pivotal moment for NASA’s science portfolio. Major projects in development include the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — which is expected to launch later this year — as well as planetary missions like Dragonfly, which is aimed for Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, and the asteroid-hunting Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor. Significant funding reductions could delay or cancel such efforts, weakening U.S. leadership in space science.

At the same time, however, the proposal maintains support for human spaceflight initiatives, particularly the Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the surface of the moon later this decade. The emphasis follows a historic milestone with NASA’s successful launch of Artemis 2 on April 1, marking the agency’s first astronaut mission toward the moon since 1972. However, critics argue this prioritization of human exploration is coming at the expense of the agency’s broader scientific mission.

Historically, NASA’s budget has fluctuated, but the scale of the proposed science cuts stands out. Adjusted for inflation, the plan would push funding toward levels not seen since the early days of the space age, before many modern scientific programs were established.

As in previous years, Congress will make the final decision. Lawmakers have repeatedly rejected deep cuts to NASA science, signaling strong support for maintaining a balanced portfolio that includes both exploration and research. In fact, last month, more than 100 members of the House of Representatives co-signed a bipartisan letter urging a $1.75 billion increase for NASA science, according to the statement.

This highlights a broad consensus that contrasts with the administration’s proposed cuts, despite the president’s stated goal of keeping NASA the world’s premier space agency. With the FY 2027 proposal now on the table, Congress is expected to review it and debate the proposed cuts in the months ahead.