The US Senate appropriations committee has rejected President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut NASA science funding by 47%. The bill, which provides $7.3 billion for the upcoming fiscal year, would reject Trump’s budget cuts and maintain funding for key programs.
The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), initially won by a vote of 15-14 but was withdrawn due to contention surrounding the location of the FBI headquarters. A new vote will be conducted during a future meeting.
The bill would fund NASA’s science programs, which Trump’s budget proposal would have devastated by 47%, and terminate 55 operating and planned missions. These include the Juno mission, New Horizons Pluto spacecraft, DaVinci Venus probe, and OSIRIS-APEX asteroid-sampling spacecraft.
Many experts in the scientific community have strongly opposed Trump’s budget proposal, citing concerns about the impact on NASA’s research capabilities and the potential for staff layoffs. The opposition includes all seven former NASA science chiefs, scientists attending the American Astronomical Society meeting, and bipartisan US Planetary Science Caucus chairs.
The bill also prioritizes NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface within a few years. It maintains funding for key components of the project, including the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft.
Furthermore, the bill provides support for other agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Weather Service (NWS), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It would also maintain funding for these organizations, despite Trump’s request for significant cuts.
The passage of this Senate bill is not yet assured, as budget bills must pass both the Senate and House of Representatives before being signed by the president.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/senators-push-back-on-trumps-proposal-to-cut-nasa-science-funding-by-47-percent