posted 02-17-2025 01:33 PM               

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has arrived onsite at the agency. We anticipate that they will start reviewing our contracts to find efficiencies.

posted 02-18-2025 01:00 PM            

"NASA is complying with the guidance and direction provided by OPM. It's premature to discuss the impact to our agency, at this time," they said in a statement.

posted 02-18-2025 01:27 PM               

The Planetary Society Strongly Opposes Mass Layoffs of Probationary Employees at NASA

"Workforce changes should be in service of improving the agency's ability to execute its mission. Indiscriminate layoffs do not serve this purpose."

The Planetary Society, the world's largest independent space advocacy organization, issued the following statement following reports that every probationary employee at NASA will have their employment abruptly terminated:

"The Planetary Society strongly opposes the sudden, indiscriminate dismissal of upwards of 1,000 scientists, engineers, and explorers at NASA — the largest involuntary workforce reduction since the end of the Apollo program. While we recognize the value of improved efficiency and structural optimization, any workforce changes should be in service of improving the agency's ability to execute its mission. Indiscriminate layoffs do not serve this purpose.

"These public servants — many of whom are just starting their careers — represent the future of NASA. Their removal does not reflect their abilities or commitment to advancing U.S. interests in space, only that they chose to join the nation's space agency within the past year.

"We urge the Trump Administration to reverse this arbitrary decision and work with Congress and other stakeholders to define a clear strategy for continued U.S. leadership in space and to ensure the nation's space agency has the workforce necessary to succeed in its mission."

NASA provides a 3-to-1 return on the taxpayer's investment, according to recent economic analyses, generating more than $75 billion in the U.S. economy and supporting over 300,000 jobs across the country. Furthermore, data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis indicates that investments by government programs have been the primary growth driver of the American space economy, while private sector GDP has fallen an average of 3.0% between 2018 and 2022. Any significant downturn in federal investments in NASA will have severe ramifications for the overall space economy and American capabilities in space exploration.

Historically, NASA has been a unifying force in the American political system and across the globe. Upon the inauguration of President Trump, The Planetary Society submitted recommendations for the administration to embrace the unique role of NASA to make major advancements in space exploration over the next four years.

posted 02-18-2025 07:10 PM               

...by late in the afternoon field center directors received confirmation from the White House that NASA's probationary employees — of which there are more than 1,000 across the agency's headquarters and 10 field centers — would not be terminated. These employees comprise about 6 percent of NASA's workforce.

It was not immediately clear why.

posted 02-19-2025 02:57 PM               

NASA continues to work as quickly as possible to comply with the guidance and direction provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for the Deferred Resignation Program and probationary employees.

The agency is in the process of validating hundreds of employees who responded to the deferred resignation offer before the deadline. Some probationary employees have taken the deferred resignation offer and those individuals have been, or will be, on administrative leave by the end of this week.

NASA is working with OPM on exemptions for those in the probationary period in mission critical functions.

posted 02-20-2025 03:17 PM               

About 5% of NASA's workforce accepted the resignation offer in the Deferred Resignation Program. A small subset of that group was probationary employees and will be allowed to enter into the Deferred Resignation Program.

After working with OPM and a careful evaluation of our workforce and mission requirements, probationary separations will be performance-based or voluntary in accordance with agency policy. The agency will continue to monitor all employee performances and take swift action as appropriate with any issues, ensuring American citizens have an excellent and efficient workforce at NASA.

posted 03-10-2025 11:16 AM               

To optimize our workforce, and in compliance with an Executive Order, NASA is beginning its phased approach to a reduction in force, known as a RIF. A small number of individuals received notification Monday [March 10] they are a part of NASA's RIF. If they're eligible, those employees may opt to participate in the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, or VERA, or complete the RIF process.

posted 03-14-2025 02:13 PM               

In compliance with the President's Workforce Optimization Initiative, NASA continues to work on our broader reorganization plan.

Considering a variety of agency priorities this week, including the launch of SPHEREx and PUNCH, as well as preparations for NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 launch Friday, and other agency missions, the agency received a one-week extension on our initial submission.

posted 04-11-2025 12:17 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Blackarrow:
I wouldn't bet too much on the survival of the Mars Sample Return mission...

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posted 04-11-2025 03:07 PM               

The saving grace for the Mars sample return mission may very well be that China is planning its own. This administration has made it clear it has no interest in letting China claim any firsts in space.

Of course, the White House may be cutting NASA's Mars sample mission in favor for what Elon Musk says SpaceX will be doing in a year and a half's time:

Starship will hopefully depart for Mars at the end of next year with Optimus explorer robots!

posted 04-11-2025 04:16 PM            

In the other direction, there is clearly a responsibility to avoid contaminating Mars and killing off Martian bacteria with Earth bacteria, but how far do you go? Just how carefully were all the early Mars landers sterilized? Mars 2? Mars 3? Mariner 9 will probably burn up soon. Will any of it reach the surface?

How well was Perseverance sterilized? If NASA is confident that it is fully sterilized, then can we assume that the sealed samples it has left for collection by a future sample return mission contain pristine samples? They could be collected by a future astronaut crew, whose bacteria-laden exhalations would not reach the sealed material.

It goes against 60 years of support for space missions for me to argue in favour of cancelling the Mars sample return mission, but a combination of the enormous cost; the risk of mission failure; and the lengthy timeline into the 2030s lead me to conclude that it would be better for NASA to sacrifice MSR in an effort to save DAVINCI and the Roman Space Telescope (which is essentially completed).

posted 04-11-2025 04:31 PM               

The Planetary Society warns of dark age for space science under reported NASA budget cuts

The Planetary Society issued the following statement in response to reports of the White House's budget "passback" to NASA for fiscal year (FY) 2026:

Days ago, the Administration's nominee to lead NASA called for a "new golden age of science and discovery" at the agency. The proposed budget from within the White House — which cuts NASA science by 47% — would plunge NASA into a dark age instead.

If enacted, this budget would force the premature termination of dozens of active, productive spacecraft. These spacecraft are unique assets: their instrumentation and capabilities cannot be replaced without billions of dollars of new taxpayer investment. No commercial or private space companies can fill this gap.

This budget would halt the development of nearly every future science project at NASA, wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer funds already spent on these projects, abandoning international and commercial partners, and surrendering U.S. leadership in space science to other nations.

This budget would eviscerate space science research, withering the nation's STEM talent pipeline by removing opportunities to train future scientists and engineers.

The Planetary Society condemns this proposal for NASA and for NASA science. We urge Congress to swiftly reject this proposal and restore funding for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. We remain committed to joining with all stakeholders to protect and promote U.S. leadership in the scientific exploration of space.

In response to these proposed cuts, The Planetary Society has launched a campaign to urge citizens to write their representatives and voice their concerns. We urge Americans supportive of space exploration to join our campaign and share their support of NASA science at planet.

posted 04-15-2025 09:41 PM               

Rep. Chu Sounds Alarm on White House's Proposed Budget Cuts to Mars Sample Return

Today, President Trump's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reportedly sent a preliminary budget plan to NASA that proposes a 50% cut to NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and to eliminate funding for the Mars Sample Return (MRS) mission led by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is owned by NASA and administered by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), whose district includes JPL and Caltech, released the following statement:

"As a steadfast champion of Caltech and JPL and strong supporter of the Mars Sample Return program as our nation's highest planetary science priority, I am horrified by the reports that the Trump White House wants to defund the MSR mission entirely. I can't be clear enough: this decision would devastate our region, our workforce, and our future scientific discoveries.

"Completing this mission and bringing back these samples — which are already being collected on Mars' surface—is essential to maintaining American leadership on Mars and paving the way for eventual human exploration of the planet. Ending funding now would completely undermine the decades of investments already made into our Mars program, devastate our nation's Mars workforce at JPL and around the country, and threaten years of future scientific discovery and innovation to come. JPL has already lost hundreds of Mars experts last year due to shortsighted budget cuts, and our nation's world-class space program cannot afford to lose more.

"I will work tirelessly with my colleagues in Congress of both parties to fully reject the Trump Administration's plan and designate the robust and appropriate funding this year and beyond for MSR. I will never stop fighting to protect the workforce and bring these samples back so we can continue to pursue the kinds of groundbreaking scientific discovery and technological innovation that JPL, and the United States, have been on the frontlines of for decades."

Rep. Chu and Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02), who both co-Chair the bipartisan Congressional Planetary Science Caucus, released the following joint statement today in response:

"As Co-Chairs of the Planetary Science Caucus, we are extremely alarmed by reports of a preliminary White House budget that proposes cutting NASA Science funding by almost half and terminating dozens of programs already well underway, like the Mars Sample Return mission and the Roman Space Telescope.

NASA Science is a cornerstone of our nation's space program, supporting thousands of jobs nationwide and driving countless scientific discoveries and technological advancements. If enacted, these proposed cuts would demolish our space economy and workforce, threaten our national security and defense capabilities, and ultimately surrender the United States' leadership in space, science, and technological innovation to our adversaries. The United States must be the first to land and return samples from Mars and return humans to the moon for the first time in more than half a century.

We will work closely with our colleagues in Congress on a bipartisan basis to push back against these proposed cuts and program terminations and to ensure full and robust funding for NASA Science in Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations. Together, we must maintain America's preeminence in space."

posted 05-02-2025 10:50 AM               

President Trump's FY26 Budget Revitalizes Human Space Exploration

The Trump-Vance Administration released toplines of the President's budget for Fiscal Year 2026 on Friday. The budget accelerates human space exploration of the Moon and Mars with a fiscally responsible portfolio of missions.

"This proposal includes investments to simultaneously pursue exploration of the Moon and Mars while still prioritizing critical science and technology research," said acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro. "I appreciate the President's continued support for NASA's mission and look forward to working closely with the administration and Congress to ensure we continue making progress toward achieving the impossible."

• Increased commitment to human space exploration in pursuit of exploration of both the Moon and Mars. By allocating more than $7 billion for lunar exploration and introducing $1 billion in new investments for Mars-focused programs, the budget ensures America's human space exploration efforts remain unparalleled, innovative, and efficient.

• Refocus science and space technology resources to efficiently execute high priority research. Consistent with the administration's priority of returning to the Moon before China and putting an American on Mars, the budget will advance priority science and research missions and projects, ending financially unsustainable programs including Mars Sample Return. It emphasizes investments in transformative space technologies while responsibly shifting projects better suited for private sector leadership.

• Transition the Artemis campaign to a more sustainable, cost-effective approach to lunar exploration. The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion capsule will be retired after Artemis III, paving the way for more cost-effective, next-generation commercial systems that will support subsequent NASA lunar missions. The budget also ends the Gateway Program, with the opportunity to repurpose already produced components for use in other missions. International partners will be invited to join these renewed efforts, expanding opportunities for meaningful collaboration on the Moon and Mars.

• Continue the process of transitioning the International Space Station to commercial replacements in 2030, focusing onboard research on efforts critical to the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The budget reflects the upcoming transition to a more cost-effective, open commercial approach to human activities in low Earth orbit by reducing the space station's crew size and onboard research, preparing for the safe decommissioning of the station and its replacement by commercial space stations.

• Work to minimize duplication of efforts and most efficiently steward the allocation of American taxpayer dollars. This budget ensures NASA's topline enables a financially sustainable trajectory to complete groundbreaking research and execute the agency's bold mission.

• Focus NASA's resources on its core mission of space exploration. This budget ends climate-focused "green aviation" spending while protecting the development of technologies with air traffic control and other U.S. government and commercial applications, producing savings. This budget also will ensure continued elimination any funding toward misaligned DEIA initiatives, instead designating that money to missions capable of advancing NASA's core mission. NASA will continue to inspire the next generation of explorers through exciting, ambitious space missions that demonstrate American leadership in space.

NASA will coordinate closely with its partners to execute these priorities and investments as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Building on the President's promise to increase efficiency this budget pioneers a focused, innovative, and fiscally-responsible path to America's next great era of human space exploration.

posted 05-02-2025 11:08 AM               

The Artemis program is the agency's only area to receive an increase of $647 mission, with over a total of $7 billion earmarked for lunar exploration and $1 billion for Mars.

The president is proposing cutting:

• space science by $2.3 billion
  
• mission support by $1.2 billion
  
• Earth science by $1.2 billion
  
• legacy human exploration systems (SLS, Orion, Gateway) by $879 million
  
• space technology by $531 million
  
• the International Space Station by $508 million
  
• aeronautics by $346 million, and
  
• STEM engagement by $143 million (effectively shutting it down)

posted 05-03-2025 05:55 AM            

The previous U.S. administration did nothing to accelerate American spaceflight, instead prioritising your country's space agency to become more diverse and progressive.

NASA needs more efficiency because its political patrons only want jobs (and votes) in those districts where NASA centres are located.

posted 05-03-2025 09:40 AM               

Under the Artemis program, building a moon base has been left to our international partners (primarily ESA and JAXA) in return for NASA providing a sustainable architecture to deliver crews to the surface and establishing a lunar orbit platform for international crew members to visit and work at the moon in the near term.

This budget proposal cancels the lunar orbit platform (Gateway) and suggests any agreements broken can be replaced with other roles in the U.S. exploration missions (what those might be or if they align with those other countries' priorities is not addressed).

posted 05-03-2025 10:03 PM               

China gets a vote in the process... it has already caused the National Defense Strategy to re-prioritize focus from Europe to Indo-China (along with Homeland Defense and Burden Sharing). China's long game includes heavily dominating cislunar space and lunar resources.

posted 05-04-2025 12:14 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by issman1:
to see a NASA-led lunar base

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posted 05-04-2025 04:15 PM               

A "long-term presence" obviously implies a lunar base, and it is also a NASA plan (via explicit collaboration with other partners). So let's not engage with word games.

posted 05-30-2025 07:17 PM               

• phase-out of SLS, Orion, and EGS procurements associated with flights after Artemis III

• procurement of commercial transportation services for Artemis IV and beyond through a competitive contract

• shutdown of the Gateway program

• HLS program will begin the process of procurement to conduct a near-term entry, descent, and landing demonstration at Mars for a human-class Mars lander

• establishment of a new Commercial Mars Payload Services (CMPS) program

• initiation of activities to lay the groundwork for a Commercial Martian surface suit

• prioritizes deployment of commercial low-Earth orbit platforms prior to 2030

• reduces U.S. crew and crew/cargo vehicle cadence to International Space Station

• significantly reduces research and other activities on board the ISS; ISS is replanning with a focus on maintaining minimal safe operations and very limited research essential to support Moon and Mars exploration until its retirement in 2030

• termination of NASA's Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Program; RPT maintained and managed a wide range of facilities capable of ground testing rocket engines and components under controlled conditions. This test infrastructure included facilities located across the United States

• provides no funding for nuclear thermal or nuclear electric propulsion projects because these technologies have not been selected for deep space missions and require significant funding and lengthy development timelines

• terminates the Mars Sample Return mission

• continued operations of the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope at "slightly reduced" budget levels, and development of the Roman Space Telescope

• will not proceed with formulation of the UltraViolet EXplorer (UVEX) mission

• initiates closeout of the Chandra mission

• Operating missions that have completed their prime missions (New Horizons and Juno) and the follow-on mission to OSIRIX-REx, OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer, are eliminated

• eliminated funding for Mars Odyssey, Mars Express and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioNn (MAVEN); the budget does not support NASA contributions to the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosalind Franklin ExoMars Rover mission (ROSA)

• reduces funding for Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter and Solar Dynamics Observatory

• restructures the Landsat Next mission, which required simultaneous development and launch of three satellites with significantly enhanced capabilities compared to the current Landsat satellites. NASA will study alternative mission architectures that could provide desired continuity of the Landsat imagery at a lower cost

• NASA will not proceed with formulation and development of Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) -Storm, AOS-Sky, Surface Biology and Geology (SBG)-VSWIR, SBG-TIR, and the NASA contributions to the Sentinel-6C, CRISTAL, Luce, and PMM partner missions; NASA will implement mission closeout of DSCOVR, SAGE III, Terra, Aqua, and Aura

• reduces the Explorer program funding, allowing only one mission selection in FY 2026 and will delay initiation of this new mission to no earlier than the first quarter of FY 2027

• eliminates all center-level public relations (PAO) and consolidates it within NASA HQ at a reduced funding level

• cancels all STEM outreach; no funding is requested for Space Grant, EPSCoR, MUREP, and Next Gen STEM

posted 06-05-2025 03:22 PM               

I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago...

The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.

In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.

posted 06-05-2025 05:43 PM               

Today, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, unveiled his legislative directives for Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill. The Commerce Committee's reconciliation language...

...[ensures] the U.S. – not China – gets to Mars and gets back to the Moon first.