How should we view the U.S. Congress rejecting Trump’s proposal to cut NASA’s budget?

I posted this question. In early 2026, the U.S. federal Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce–Justice–Science Appropriations Conference Agreement allocated $24.438 billion to NASA—slightly less than the $24.838 billion allocated in FY2025, a reduction of $400 million. Some clearly inefficient projects will continue consuming resources. This is markedly different from the highly publicized large-scale budget cuts announced in June 2025. The Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission is projected to cost up to $11 billion—and may rise further—with highly uncertain timelines. The appropriations bill supports terminating the program and redirecting $110 million toward the 'Future Mars Missions' initiative for technology development, preserving the possibility of reviving the return effort later. This decision stems primarily from severe cost overruns and significant schedule delays. NASA’s MSR mission, conducted jointly with the European Space Agency (ESA), originally aimed to return samples collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth by 2033. Due to budget overruns and unexpectedly high technical complexity, NASA has already delayed the timeline to 2035–2040—though it remains reluctant to accept such major delays. See my earlier answer to: 'How should we view NASA’s plan to delay the Mars sample return mission from the early 2030s to 2040 due to excessive costs?' In 2025, Lockheed Martin and other contractors submitted fixed-price proposals valued at approximately $3 billion to develop a small Mars Ascent Vehicle, thereby reducing lander payload requirements; they proposed leveraging many proven, existing designs—launching the Earth Return Orbiter in 2030 and the Sample Retrieval Lander in 2031. At the time, I assessed that the project still risked cancellation as early as 2026. Previously, on July 10, 2025, local time, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation explicitly rejected the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts. The committee’s outcome leaned toward maintaining current funding levels for scientific agencies. On July 14, 2025, local time, the House Appropriations Committee’s draft FY2026 Commerce–Justice–Science Appropriations Bill also favored sustaining current funding levels for scientific agencies—allocating roughly $100 million less to NASA than the Senate proposed, but about $6 billion more than the Trump administration requested. The effect of the July 10 proposal is illustrated in the figure below: Readers may notice that, adjusted for 2024-dollar purchasing power, the Trump administration actually allocated more funding to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA during its first term than the Biden administration has. Below is my earlier response—issued before these developments—to the question: 'If NASA cancels nearly all its major new science missions, what impact might this have on the U.S. and global space sectors?' I believe the Trump administration’s 2025 NASA budget proposal is unlikely to pass in its current form; even if it did, the negative impact on the space sector would likely be smaller than many anticipate.

How should we view the large-scale cuts to basic scientific research funding in the U.S. and Europe?

U.S. basic science funding was not drastically cut in FY2026—or rather, Trump attempted such cuts, but Congress blocked them. A similar scenario played out during Trump’s first term. On January 8, 2026, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee introduced an $180 billion federal spending bill for FY2026, which the Senate approved on January 16—making it the legally binding final annual appropriations package. Under this package, total federal R&D funding for FY2026 remains roughly flat compared to FY2025. According to the final package, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will receive approximately $8.7 billion—about a 4% decrease from FY2025; NASA will receive approximately $24.3 billion—a roughly 2% decrease from FY2025 spending. The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science will receive approximately $8.4 billion—an increase of about 2% over FY2025.

Policy Watch: House Appropriations Committee approves 20% cut to NSF funding

May 15, 2026

The House Appropriations Committee approved a FY 2027 bill cutting NSF funding by 20% to $7 billion. This reduction impacts research and infrastructure, falling short of advocacy groups' recommended levels.

cen

2026-05-15

Policy Watch: House Appropriations Committee approves 20% cut to NSF funding

Policy Watch: House Appropriations Committee approves 20% cut to NSF funding

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