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NASA\u2019s headquarters in Washington DC<\/p>\n
John M. Chase\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
NASA is preparing for substantial budget cuts that may force the cancellation of ongoing and upcoming missions across the solar system, leaving it facing a \u201cbrutal\u201d future, experts have warned.<\/p>\n
The space agency has already begun some layoffs as part of the extensive restructuring of US federal agencies by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an independent task force led by Elon Musk. Earlier this week, it announced it would close its Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy; the Office of the Chief Scientist; and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility branch in the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity in Washington DC, representing a total of 23 jobs at the agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cChange of this magnitude is never easy, but our strength comes from our shared commitment to our mission and each other,\u201d Janet Petro, NASA\u2019s acting administrator, wrote in an email to staff. \u201cI encourage you to support one another as we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
One employee of the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy, who learned they had been laid off this week and were granted anonymity because of fear of reprisal, says they were an \u201ceasy target\u201d because their office was established under the previous Joe Biden administration. \u201cSome people thought this might be coming,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The roles of chief technologist and chief economist for NASA were within this office, which \u201chelped with strategic planning across the agency,\u201d says the employee. That included managing the recent uptick in lunar missions and \u201cmaking sure those missions don\u2019t interfere with one another\u201d when planning moon-based landing sites and operations.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of interest in the lunar south pole, and there\u2019s concern about operating near one another,\u201d they said, such as kicking up dust that could coat solar panels on other vehicles. \u201cI don\u2019t think these issues will be tackled moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n These losses are expected to be just the start of a much larger cull at NASA. Casey Dreier at US space-exploration advocacy group The Planetary Society says there are rumours that, in his upcoming budget request, President Donald Trump will direct NASA\u2019s overall science budget to be cut by as much as 50 per cent, in favour of spending money on crewed space exploration. That would be a blow to NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate office, which handles \u201cpretty much everything NASA does that\u2019s not a crewed spaceflight mission\u201d, says Dreier; it currently has a budget of about $7 billion out of NASA\u2019s total $25 billion annual budget.<\/p>\n A scientist familiar with NASA\u2019s policy decisions, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisal, says that any cuts requested by the president will still need to be approved by Congress, which might not so readily support them. \u201cNASA is really beloved on a bipartisan basis,\u201d they say. But if the cuts did go ahead, they \u201cwould essentially be the end of NASA science,\u201d they add. \u201cNo mission will be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Halving the budget \u201cwould be a profoundly brutal consequence that would symbolize the nation turning its back on the cosmos,\u201d says Dreier, and would result in many missions\u2019 cancellation. While some missions in their prime \u2013 like the James Webb Space Telescope \u2013 would likely survive, those most at risk are missions either in early planning stages or later in their lives. That could include climate satellites, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers on Mars, and the Voyager missions, which were the first spacecraft to ever leave our solar system.<\/p>\n The effects on NASA could be permanent: \u201cIf you completely destroy the pipeline of people, you have a significant and long-lasting consequence,\u201d says Dreier. \u201cIt is an extinction-level event.\u201d<\/p>\n In a letter to Petro this week, Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, urged NASA to fight back against the cuts. \u201cDOGE will seek to slash and burn core functions of NASA,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt is imperative that you stand up for NASA\u2019s critical work.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to\u00a0New Scientist<\/em>, Lofgren warned that the situation could have international ramifications. \u201cDismantling NASA\u2019s highly skilled workforce would be a giant leap backwards for the United States and enable a giant leap forward for China,\u201d she said. \u201cSenseless and reckless reductions will cripple the agency\u2019s ability to maintain its leadership in cutting-edge innovation, curiosity-driven science, and human exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n Topics:<\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n