Trump’s new NASA budget to prioritise Moon, Mars missions over research
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President Donald Trump's newly released NASA budget proposal prioritizes sending humans to the Moon and Mars while making deep cuts to science and climate initiatives and reducing the agency’s overall funding by nearly 25%.
The proposal calls for major changes to key programs, including phasing out NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion crew capsule, as well as scrapping the planned lunar space station, Gateway. It would also terminate the Mars Sample Return mission—a collaboration with the European Space Agency aimed at retrieving rock samples gathered by the Perseverance rover to search for evidence of ancient microbial life.
The budget proposal justifies cutting certain space missions by stating that their objectives would ultimately be fulfilled through future human missions to Mars. Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro explained that the plan still prioritizes essential scientific and technological research, while also supporting simultaneous exploration of both the Moon and Mars, AFP reported.
According to the White House, the administration wants to focus on "beating China back to the Moon and putting the first human on Mars. With China targeting a crewed lunar landing by 2030, the U.S. effort—through the often-delayed Artemis program—is under pressure to advance.
The proposal states that NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion capsule would be retired after Artemis 3, the mission planned to return astronauts to the Moon.
Although critics have long criticized the SLS program as costly and inefficient, its suggested replacements—SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn—have not yet received full flight certification.
Adding to concerns, Elon Musk, who heads SpaceX, is a key advisor to President Trump and leads his government cost-cutting initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency.
Further raising questions about potential conflicts of interest, tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman—who has flown to space twice with SpaceX—has been nominated by Trump to head NASA.
The proposed budget would reduce NASA’s funding to $18.8 billion, down from $24.8 billion the previous year, marking a 24.3% decrease.
Despite the overall budget cuts, NASA’s space exploration efforts would see an increase of $647 million compared to 2025, with spending on crewed missions to the Moon surpassing $7 billion. An extra $1 billion would be allocated to new programs focused on Mars.
At the same time, the proposal would reduce funding for NASA’s Earth Science division by over $1.1 billion, targeting what it describes as “low-priority” satellites used for climate monitoring.
