Congress has approved a budget that largely spares NASA's science programs from deep cuts proposed by the White House. The plan allocates $24.4 billion to the agency overall, with only a 1 percent reduction in science funding to $7.25 billion. This outcome follows months of uncertainty sparked by the Trump administration's initial proposals.
In June 2025, the White House proposed a fiscal year 2026 budget that would have slashed NASA's science funding by nearly 50 percent. By July, the Trump administration instructed leaders of dozens of space science missions to prepare closure plans for their spacecraft, raising alarms in the scientific community.
Congress, however, intervened decisively. Throughout the summer and fall, lawmakers signaled their intent to protect most of NASA's science portfolio, halting preliminary shutdown efforts. On January 5, 2026, as part of the congressional conferencing process, a $24.4 billion budget for NASA emerged, limiting science funding cuts to just 1 percent, or $7.25 billion.
"This is, frankly, better than I could have expected," said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, which opposed the initial cuts. "There’s very little to not like in this."
The budget does not reverse prior workforce reductions, including a 2025 voluntary buyout program and broader federal efficiency efforts under the Department of Government Efficiency. Dreier highlighted the wasted effort: "Those hours could have been spent running and analyzing data from these valuable missions. It created a lot of needless friction and churn at a time when NASA is being told it must remain competitive with China and other nations in space."
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies bill this week, with the Senate following next. President Trump is anticipated to sign it, effective immediately for the fiscal year that began October 1, 2025.
One notable loss is the Mars Sample Return mission, which aimed to bring Martian rocks back to Earth but faced a projected $10 billion cost and uncertain timeline. The budget states it does not support the existing program, though it allocates $110 million for a new "Mars Future Missions" initiative focused on technologies like radar and landing systems. These capabilities are deemed essential for future science and human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Positive notes include continued funding for the DAVINCI probe to Venus, $10 million for Uranus orbiter studies, and $150 million toward the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a telescope to detect life on Earth-like exoplanets.
