When I wrote the advocacy update for the June issue of the Planetary Report, I could not have imagined the ongoing success of our advocacy efforts this year. But given that NASA and the entire American space program are facing an extinction-level crisis, this shouldn’t be too surprising. As we approach the midpoint of the year, I am excited to report that 2025 has been a banner year for space advocacy with the launch of our Save NASA Science Campaign.
Since January 1 of this year, we’ve held more events, appeared in more publications, facilitated more messages to Congress, and engaged more members of the public than at any other point in the Society’s recent history.
The advocacy for Europa Clipper might be the only other campaign that beats the sheer number of actions taken to support scientific discovery and space exploration, but that benefited from ample lead-time and planning. The Save NASA Science Campaign has come together organically in reaction to the existential threat to space science, but has now shifted to be a forward-looking effort to bring together the public, academia, industry, and international community to advance science.
The success of the Save NASA Science Campaign is the direct result of the actions taken by tens of thousands of space advocates from around the world. The fight is not over, but we are in a position of strength.
How We Got Here
Just a couple of months ago, the contours of the new administration’s space policy were obscure. The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) NASA budget request had not been released, and all we knew about the proposal were the rumors of major cuts and shifts of policy being considered. But details were scant. And those of us who rang the alarm bell were told that there was no way that the Administration that once gave us Artemis, the highest science funding levels in history, and delivered solid space policies in the first term would turn its back on future American leadership in space exploration.
In a sense, they were right. President Trump, in his inaugural address and first remarks to a joint session of Congress, alluded to space ambitions as a priority for the administration. So what changed?
The danger can be traced back to one unelected bureaucrat – OMB Director Russ Vought – who, in the absence of Senate-confirmed NASA leadership or internal advocates, took advantage of the situation by proposing an unstrategic, unprecedented, and wasteful retreat from space exploration that is inconsistent with the President’s stated interest in a “golden age of American innovation.” His proposed decimation of space science can be traced back to a document penned by Vought in 2022 to respond to then-President Biden’s FY 2023 budget request.
To read more about the specifics of the budget request, check out our Guide to NASA’s Budget with helpful analysis, charts, and links to datasets.
The Metrics
Taking a look at the last six months, the Space Policy & Advocacy team has been busy sharing information about the budget crisis with stakeholder groups, organizing the space community response, and connecting the public with resources and tools to effectively advocate for NASA.
We hosted more than a dozen informational sessions at conferences, on Capitol Hill, and online, including a community budget briefing that was attended by 500 scientists.