NASA is moving forward with its role in ESA’s Rosalind Franklin mission to Mars. Scheduled to launch in 2028, the Rosalind Franklin rover will search for signs of past or present life under the surface of Mars. NASA’s contribution to the mission includes a launch vehicle, the propulsion system for the rover’s lander platform, radioisotope heater units for the rover’s internal systems, and portions of the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer scientific instrument. Pictured: Artist’s impression of the Rosalind Franklin rover on Mars. Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab.
How ready is NASA for crewed lunar landings? In their first press conference since completing their mission around the Moon, the Artemis II crew expressed their confidence in the rest of the Artemis program, which aims for a lunar landing in 2028. A recent report from NASA’s Inspector General, though, is less certain.
NASA has been accused of prematurely implementing Trump’s last budget cuts. A report from members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology argues that in 2025, NASA began shutting down and defunding programs targeted in the FY2026 budget proposal, despite receiving no direction to do so from Congress. Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren said in the statement, “A President’s Budget Request is not law. It cannot supersede the laws enacted by Congress. NASA must heed the warning of this report and prevent what happened in 2025 from happening again.”
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is ahead of schedule. NASA said this week that the telescope, which will study dark matter, dark energy, and exoplanets, will launch in September, eight months ahead of schedule and under budget.