Mars Advocates, Lawmakers, Industry Groups Decry NASA Budget Proposal

‘Skinny’ budget opponents argue cuts to science and other programs will derail U.S. leadership in human spaceflight.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, May 07, 2025 at 07:30 AM ET

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Jack Daleo

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the assigned launch vehicle for the Artemis III lunar landing, stands next to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

The White House's FY2026 NASA budget proposes a 25% overall funding cut, redirecting resources to prioritize human exploration of Mars and the Moon, including a $1 billion boost for Mars-focused programs.
This prioritization comes at the expense of NASA's science missions, mission support, and ongoing projects like SLS, Orion, and Mars Sample Return, which risk jeopardization or slowdowns.
A broad coalition of stakeholders, including The Mars Society, NASA contractors, international partners (ESA), and various science advocacy groups, strongly opposes the budget, arguing it is counterproductive and undermines U.S. leadership in space.
The proposed budget is a preliminary "skinny" version and is not final, requiring further review and markup by Congress.

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The largest space organization advocating for a sustained human presence on Mars is among detractors of the White House’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for NASA, which positions the Red Planet as a critical strategic priority.

President Donald Trump’s discretionary or “skinny” budget threatens to cut the space agency’s top-line funding by about 25 percent. Included in the plan is a slight boost in funding for human space exploration—including $1 billion in new investments for “Mars-focused programs”—at the expense of science, mission support, legacy spacecraft, and other key programs.