NASA is facing the biggest crisis in its history
Widespread proposed budget cuts have left the US space agency facing an uncertain future at the same time as NASA’s intended new leader has been withdrawn by the Trump administration
By Jonathan O’Callaghan
3 June 2025
NASA faces massive cuts under a proposed budget
homas Lammeyer/imageBROKER/Shutterstock
The Trump administration’s proposal to wipe out a quarter of NASA’s budget has left scientists reeling, with multiple missions and spacecraft facing cancellation.
That proposal was followed by the news that the man slated to lead the agency is no longer up for the role. The intended new leader for NASA, US billionaire Jared Isaacman, had his nomination for the role revoked by US President Donald Trump, leaving the US space agency in turmoil.
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“This is the biggest crisis facing the space agency in its history,” says Casey Dreier at the US space-exploration advocacy group The Planetary Society. “We are doing everything we can to try to stop this.”
On 30 May, the Trump administration revealed its full planned budget request for NASA in 2026, following prior widespread reports that the budget would slash science funding at NASA. The budget would allocate $18.8 billion to the space agency, a nearly 25 per cent reduction from the $24.9 billion budget in 2025.
Included would be a cut of nearly half of NASA’s science budget. Major programmes like Mars Sample Return – designed to return rocks from Mars that the Perseverance rover is currently collecting, which may contain signs of life – would be cancelled. Also on the chopping block are the OSIRIS-APEX mission to visit the potentially dangerous asteroid Apophis, two proposed missions to Venus and existing missions such as the Juno mission at Jupiter and the New Horizons mission at the edge of the solar system.
