Some of the greatest mysteries of the universe, such as the possibility of life on Mars or Venus, may never be solved because of Donald Trump’s proposed “extinction-level” cuts to Nasa spending, scientists are warning.
The Trump administration revealed last month its plan to slash the space agency’s overall budget by 24% to $18.8bn, the lowest figure since 2015. Space and Earth science missions would bear the brunt of the cutbacks, losing more than 53% of what was allocated to them in 2024.
If the budget is approved by Congress, opponents say, longstanding Nasa labs will close, deep-space missions, including many already under way, will be abandoned, and a new generation of exploration and discovery will never reach the launchpad.
Two of the most notable casualties will be the Mars sample return mission, which had been in doubt on cost grounds for a while, and the Davinci+ and Veritas projects. The latter two were announced during the Biden administration and planned for the early 2030s; they would have sent Nasa back to study Venus for the first time since 1989.
Advocates are highlighting the future discoveries that will not be made, as much as the loss of initiatives that were extensively planned years ago, as they ramp up their campaign to persuade Washington lawmakers to defy the president and preserve or even expand Nasa’s funding.
“An extinction-level event is when something like an asteroid hits Earth and life that has been otherwise perfectly well-functioning, healthy ecosystems that have been balanced and functioning, are wiped out in large numbers. That’s functionally what this budget is,” said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at the Planetary Society, which is rallying Congress members to oppose the budget.
“Projects that are functioning, that are on budget and on time, that are already paid for and returning good science, would be decimated. You’d see missions turned off mid-flight, extended missions put into hibernation or left to tumble in space. You’d see projects that could launch next year canceled summarily, and hundreds if not thousands of scientists and engineers and others laid off due to loss of research money and technology investments.
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Technion astrophysics Professor Ehud Behar is quoted in this article.
