"NASA's budget battle took another turn this week as the US House and Senate Appropriations Committees released text rejecting proposed cuts to the space agency. The "joint explanatory statement" [PDF] is a little light on detail, but restores most of NASA's science budget. The FY2026 Request was $3.9 billion, down from the FY2025 Enacted figure of $7.33 billion, which was described as "an extinction-level event" for science by some observers."
"The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act has brought the amount back to $7.25 billion, doubtless to the relief of NASA and its new Administrator, Jared Isaacman. While this still represents a cut from previous levels, and inflation will further reduce its purchasing power, the reduction is far less severe than initially proposed. There is, however, a slight reduction in Exploration budget, for which $8.31 billion was requested, and $7.78 billion was allocated under the agreement."
House and Senate appropriations committees released joint text rejecting proposed cuts and restoring most of NASA's science funding. The FY2026 Request of $3.9 billion, down from the FY2025 enacted $7.33 billion, was largely reversed to $7.25 billion. The restored amount remains below prior levels and inflation will reduce its purchasing power. Exploration funding saw a slight reduction from a requested $8.31 billion to an allocated $7.78 billion. The agreement rejects terminating the Space Launch System and Orion following Artemis III and prohibits reallocating Artemis Moon-to-Mars Transportation funds unless a commercial alternative meets or exceeds SLS and Orion capabilities. The agreement still requires full House and Senate passage.
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