Some sections of the Trump administration’s budget proposal would funnel federal funding toward projects that have fairly broad support. Those projects include a new line of commercial Mars missions, where NASA would initially purchase transportation to the red planet for scientific payloads and cargo before, potentially, moving on to crew transportation.
This Commercial Mars Payload Services program would be modeled on NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. So far, the commercial lunar program has a mixed record in terms of successful landings, but it has sparked the development of multiple commercial Moon landers from companies across the United States that cost less than what NASA would have paid for a traditional lunar lander program. Supporters argue a similar program for Mars could yield the same kinds of economic benefits.
NASA’s proposed budget also includes funding for “Mars-appropriate spacesuits” and accelerates the development of advanced space computers. “Significant funds are provided for Mars-forward technologies and surface infrastructure that can be demonstrated on the Moon through the Artemis program,” NASA wrote in its fiscal year 2026 budget request.
The Rosalind Franklin rover for ESA’s ExoMars mission has been complete and waiting for a ride to Mars for nearly five years.
Credit:
Thales Alenia Space
But at what cost?
Some of these proposals are supported by at least a subset of space companies and policymakers. However, there are plenty of items in Trump’s budget proposal that virtually no one in the space community has asked for.
Cutting a quarter of NASA’s budget will afford fewer opportunities for discovery, could fray relationships with international partners, and reduce the agency’s bandwidth for basic research that commercial companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and smaller enterprises will rely upon for missions to the Moon and Mars. But there’s more to the story than that.
Ars has compiled a list of five cuts or cancellations in the White House’s budget request that could do the most damage to NASA’s long-term mission. Here they are, in no particular order:
memoment editorial note: This article highlights recent developments in space exploration, astronomy, and scientific discoveries. Stay tuned as memoment continues to monitor breakthroughs from NASA, ESA, and other leading institutions.
This article was curated by memoment.jp from the feed source: Ars Technica.
Original article: https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/06/5-things-in-trumps-budget-that-wont-make-nasa-great-again/
© All rights belong to the original publisher.
