NASA Faces Deepest Budget Cuts Since 1970s Impacting Science Missions

NASA is facing an unprecedented budget crisis in 2025, with the White House proposing cuts from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, marking the agency's lowest funding level since the early 1970s when adjusted for inflation. These drastic reductions threaten to stall key science missions, climate research, and development programs, potentially delaying or downsizing Moon and Mars exploration goals, reducing staff, and shrinking educational outreach. The cuts also imperil international collaborations and risk ceding U.S. leadership in space to rivals like China. Further budget proposals for fiscal year 2026 suggest even deeper reductions, with some experts seeing this as a catalyst for necessary agency restructuring despite the pain involved. Additionally, turmoil at NASA’s leadership surfaced when President Donald Trump rescinded the appointment of Jared Isaacman as agency head amid the funding crisis, adding uncertainty to NASA's future direction. Meanwhile, NASA quietly progresses on preparing for challenges such as the handling of human remains in space, underscoring the complex realities of expanding human presence beyond Earth.