"Going into the appropriations process, the president called for a 24 percent year over year reduction to NASA's total operating budget. As part of that plan, the White House wanted to reduce the Science Mission Directorate's funding by nearly half, a move that would have forced NASA to cancel 55 ongoing and planned missions, including efforts like OSIRIS-APEX. The bill effectively rejects President Trump's plan, reducing NASA's total operating budget by just 1.6 percent year over year to $24.4 billion."
"Per the new appropriations, NASA's science budget will stand at $7.25 billion, 1.1 percent less relative to fiscal 2024, while shuffling the remaining funds to focus on different priorities. For instance, the House and Senate allocated $874 million (+8.7 percent) for the agency's heliophysics work; planetary sciences, which oversees missions like New Horizons, was cut to $2.5 billion (-6.5 percent) compared to 2024. At the same time, NASA's STEM engagement office, which the president proposed eliminating, escaped unscathed with its funding maintained at parity."
NASA lost about 4,000 employees in 2025 but received a largely preserved operating budget for 2026 after Senate appropriations passed funding the agency alongside NSF and other agencies. The White House had proposed a 24 percent reduction to NASA's operating budget and nearly halving the Science Mission Directorate, which would have forced cancellation of 55 ongoing and planned missions including OSIRIS-APEX. The appropriations bill instead reduces NASA's operating budget by 1.6 percent to $24.4 billion and sets the science budget at $7.25 billion, 1.1 percent below fiscal 2024. Heliophysics funding increases to $874 million (+8.7 percent), planetary sciences falls to $2.5 billion (-6.5 percent), and the STEM engagement office retains prior funding.
Read at Engadget
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