The White House had proposed a historic slash to NASA’s budget, almost 25% less than the previous year. But Congress doesn’t seem willing to go along. This week, both the House of Representatives and the Senate took steps to keep the space agency’s funding well above what the Trump administration had in mind.
The bill that passed in the House allocates $24.8 billion to NASA for the next fiscal year, while the Senate goes slightly higher, with $24.9 billion. These figures are almost identical to this year’s, which, although it may not sound like much, is already a win, considering what was at stake.
What seems stable… is actually a cut
A flat budget doesn’t mean NASA can breathe easy. When inflation comes into play, that “stability” translates into a loss of real investment capacity. Even so, the scientific community, the industry, and those who closely follow everything related to space have breathed a sigh of relief. The alternative was much worse.
The Planetary Society said it loud and clear: Congress has outright rejected the “unprecedented, unstrategic, and wasteful” cuts in the White House’s proposed budget. The Trump administration had planned to cancel up to 55 missions, slash science funding to the bone, and shut down entire programs without looking back.
Congress doesn’t want to fall behind in the space race
The Senate, for example, wants to maintain science funding at $7.3 billion, as it stands this year. In contrast, the House drops that number to $6 billion, which is still way more than the $3.9 billion proposed by the White House.
Despite these differences, the intent is clear: to prevent the slash proposed by the administration from becoming a reality. In fact, Senator Chris Van Hollen summed it up bluntly during a Senate session: “We reject the cuts that would have gutted NASA science by 47 percent.”
Artemis stays on track (and so do SLS and Orion)
One of the biggest concerns was that the Artemis program might get canceled early. Under the original plan from the administration, after two more flights of SLS and the Orion capsule, NASA would have to stop using those systems and shift entirely to commercial launches, like those from SpaceX or Blue Origin.
But the Senate disagrees. It wants NASA to keep using its own rockets and spacecraft at least until truly ready alternatives exist. In fact, the bill asks NASA to prepare a five-year budget plan to continue supporting SLS, Orion, and all related systems.
The message is clear: the US must return to the Moon before China, and the technology to send humans to Mars must not be shelved.
Some programs are spared, but robotic science takes a hit
Although Congress’s intention is clear, not everything gets out unscathed. In the House version, there’s a planned reduction in the space operations budget (which includes the International Space Station, commercial crew, and future private stations), and the funds for technology development also go down a bit.
The worst hit is robotic science. While the cuts aren’t as drastic as those proposed by the White House, they could still lead to the cancellation or delay of some important missions. Representative Grace Meng, one of the most vocal critics of the proposal, put it bluntly: “While other countries make progress in space exploration and climate science, this bill would leave the United States behind”.
There’s still a long way to go (and many votes)
What’s been approved so far is just the first step. The text of both bills still has to go through the full committees in each chamber and then be voted on by all members. In other words, there’s a lot still up in the air.
And even though Congress appears to be on the same page, nothing is guaranteed. Final approval of the budget could take months, and it’s not even clear whether Donald Trump will sign it. Time is ticking: if no agreement is reached by September 30, the current budget will expire… and it’s back to square one.
For now, NASA moves forward. Some missions are still uncertain, yes. But at least, for now, Congress has made it clear it doesn’t plan to let the lights go out without a fight