Latest news with #NancyGraceRomanSpaceTelescope
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Budget for NASA Is Absolutely Horrifying
Earlier this year, the Trump administration revealed its proposed budget for NASA's fiscal year 2026, indicating brutal cuts of unprecedented proportions are coming. Now, the agency has released new data about the proposal, painting a dire picture of its future. As SpaceNews reports, the documents reveal that thousands of jobs would be cut, and dozens of science missions would be on the chopping block. The cuts — which would drag the budget to its lowest point since 1961, SpaceNews points out, when adjusted for inflation — would result in the firing of roughly one-third of all civil servants. The budget would also slash the space agency's science budget in almost half, "nothing short of an extinction-level event for space science and exploration in the United States," as Planetary Society chief of space policy Casey Dreier told Ars Technica in March. The extent of the proposed cuts is truly baffling, with the Trump administration basically looking to give up on space science altogether in favor of militarizing the Earth's orbit and sending humans to Mars. The so-called "skinny" budget would result in the cancellation of several key space exploration missions, including NASA's Mars Sample Return mission. Other Earth observation programs would also be ripped up, including missions to monitor the planet's gravity field or study tropical cyclones, per SpaceNews. The budget would also cancel planned missions to explore the surface of Mars, as well as existing operations such as OSIRIS-APEX, which is headed to an asteroid called Apophis. While NASA's next major landmark space observatory, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, wouldn't be entirely canceled, it would be allocated less than half of its previously outlined budget. Meanwhile, the space agency would be doubling down on establishing commercially funded ways to get to the Moon and Mars, highlighting the Trump administration's sometimes-cozy relationship with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whose space company is bound to reap the benefits. The budget would clear up north of $1 billion for projects connected to sending humans to the Red Planet, indicating the president is willing to closely follow Musk's lead. The proposed 2026 fiscal year budget is now headed to Congress, where it's likely to meet ample opposition. "No one is eager to cut NASA science," Dreier told SpaceNews. "No one is out there openly defending and saying that this is a great idea." In short, if it were to make it through Congress unaltered — which is unlikely, since the agency is supported by many lawmakers — Trump's NASA budget could deal the country's leadership in space an existential blow, allowing adversaries, most notably China, to race ahead. "It sends a signal that America is stepping back from leadership in virtually every science area, including NASA," former NASA associate administrator for science John Grunsfeld told PBS. "The proposal for the NASA science budget is, in fact, cataclysmic for US leadership in science." "What we see is a full-scale assault on science in America," representative George Whitesides (D-CA) added. "It is probably the biggest attack on our scientific establishment in history." "It's a poorly wielded chainsaw," he added. More on NASA's budget: NASA Disgusted by Elon Musk's Disrespect
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Donald Trump's NASA budget: Why it may make it difficult to track asteroids approaching Earth
The discussion around the possibility of an asteroid hitting the Earth mostly remains a topic of speculation among scientists and enthusiasts. Keeping the recent speculation about YR4 and other asteroids making rounds near the Earth, NASA has been developing new equipment to detect and track potentially hazardous asteroids. However, recent budget proposals by the Trump administration might threaten to derail this important planetary defense initiative. What budget cuts has Trump proposed for NASA? According to reports by Time and ArcsTechnia, President Trump's fiscal year 2026 budget proposal includes a 24% reduction in NASA's overall funding, dropping it from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, which is also the lowest since 2015. More concerning is the nearly 50% cut to the Science Mission Directorate, reducing its budget from $7.5 billion to $3.9 billion. This drastic reduction hampers and fiddles with numerous scientific programs, including planetary defense efforts like the NEO Surveyor mission . How does this impact the planetary defense system? The NEO Surveyor mission is NASA's next step in planetary defense, aiming to detect and characterise near-Earth objects (NEOs) that could be a possible threat to our planet. By operating in infrared wavelengths, it can identify asteroids that are invisible to optical telescopes. Delays or cancellations of this mission would leave Earth vulnerable to potential impacts from undetected asteroids. The budget has been partially restored In response to the proposed budget cuts, the House Appropriations Committee has partially restored funding for the NEO Surveyor mission, allocating $94.9 million. While this is a step in the right direction, it falls short of the $170 million, which NASA had requested to maintain the mission's timeline. The committee has urged NASA to provide a revised launch schedule that ensures the mission proceeds without further delays, as reported by Space News. The proposed budget cuts impact beyond planetary defense systems. Various other programs, such as the Mars Sample Return mission, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and the Space Launch System, are also on the edge. The Politico reported that former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticised the proposed budget cuts, likening them to attacking the agency with "a chainsaw and a meat-ax." He warned that such drastic reductions would severely harm NASA's core scientific research and technological development, potentially plunging the agency "into a dark age."
Gulf Today
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
To dumbly go where no space budget has gone before
Christopher Cokinos, Tribune News Service Reports that the White House may propose nearly a 50% cut to NASA's Science Mission Directorate are both mind-boggling and, if true, nothing short of disastrous. To make those cuts happen — a total of $3.6 billion — NASA would have to close the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, and cancel the mission that will bring back samples of Mars, a mission to Venus and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is nearly ready to launch. Every space telescope besides the Hubble and the James Webb would be shut down. According to the American Astronomical Society, some cuts would include projects that help us understand the sun's effects on global communications, a potential national security threat. Casey Dreier, the policy advocate for the Pasadena-based Planetary Society, says, 'This is an extinction-level event for the Earth- and space-science communities, upending decades of work and tens of billions in taxpayers' investment.' In addition, NASA as a whole would see a 20% cut — just as we are moving forward with the Artemis program. Artemis is NASA's step-by-step 'Moon to Mars' human spaceflight campaign. Artemis II is set to launch sometime next year and will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-by, the first time humans have been in close proximity to another celestial body in more than 50 years. While it seems likely that Artemis will continue in some fashion, a 20% overall agency budget cut won't leave any part of NASA unaffected. The president promised a 'golden age of America'; his nominee to head NASA promised a 'golden age of science and discovery.' This would be a return to the dark ages. Taking a blowtorch to space science would also have little effect on the federal budget while setting back American leadership in space — and the inspiration it provides across political divides — by generations. The Astronomical Society warns that our cutbacks will outsource talent 'to other countries that are increasing their investments in facilities and workforce development.' And, as Dreier points out, spacecraft would be 'left to tumble aimlessly in space' and billions wasted that have already been spent. 'Thousands of bright students across the country,' he wrote recently, 'would be denied careers in science and engineering absent the fellowships and research funds to support them.' Here's the dollars-and-cents context. NASA's budget since the 1970s 'hovers' between 1% and 0.4% of the federal discretionary spending, according to the Planetary Society's analysis, yet for every dollar spent, NASA generates $3 in the national economy. NASA's giveback was worth nearly $76 billion in economic impact in 2023, supporting more than 300,000 jobs. In California alone, NASA and its associated partners in industry and academia provide more than 66,000 jobs, more than $18 billion in economic activity and $1 billion in state tax revenue. NASA's bang-for-the-buck is astronomical, pun intended. Cutting waste is one thing. Evisceration is another. When it comes to science — from public health to climate change — the current administration is doing the latter, not the former. Meanwhile, China continues its space ambitions, with plans for a human lunar campaign and its own 'sample return' mission to the Red Planet. For now, fortunately, the bipartisan support for NASA seems to be holding. Democrats and Republicans in Congress, led by the Planetary Science Caucus, have spoken out against this attack on NASA. And the Planetary Society has engaged thousands of passionate activists to fight this battle. Humans yearn for connection to the universe — so we watch launches on social media, we follow the tracks of rovers on Mars and we marvel at creation in pictures transmitted from the James Webb Space Telescope. We borrow telescopes from the public library and look to the heavens. Bending metal — the actual process of making rovers and spaceships and telescopes — drives economic activity. Fascinating results — the data from space science missions — fires the imagination. We choose to go to space — sending humans and probes — and we pursue knowledge because curiosity is our evolutionary heritage. We explore other worlds to know them and, in doing so, we discover more about ourselves. If you agree, let Congress know. That may be the only backstop against dumbly going where no budget has gone before.
United News of India
02-05-2025
- Science
- United News of India
NASA's SPHEREx space telescope begins mapping entire sky
Los Angeles, May 2 (UNI) NASA announced Thursday that its SPHEREx space observatory has officially begun science operations, marking a major step toward uncovering new insights into the origins of the universe, the evolution of galaxies, and the building blocks of life in the Milky Way. SPHEREx will take approximately 3,600 images per day over the next two years as it systematically surveys the entire sky. Launched on March 11, SPHEREx has spent the last six weeks undergoing checkouts, calibrations, and other activities to ensure it is working as it should, according to NASA. With science operations now underway, SPHEREx will chart the positions of hundreds of millions of galaxies in three dimensions. Its goal is to address some of the most profound questions in cosmology, such as how the universe began and how its large-scale structure evolved. "This new observatory is adding to the suite of space-based astrophysics survey missions leading up to the launch of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Together with these other missions, SPHEREx will play a key role in answering the big questions about the universe we tackle at NASA every day," said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The observatory will complete more than 11,000 orbits over its 25 months of planned survey operations, circling Earth about 14-and-a-half times a day, according to NASA. UNI XINHUA GNK
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Contributor: To dumbly go where no space budget has gone before
Reports that the White House may propose nearly a 50% cut to NASA's Science Mission Directorate are both mind-boggling and, if true, nothing short of disastrous. To make those cuts happen — a total of $3.6 billion — NASA would have to close the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, and cancel the mission that will bring back samples of Mars, a mission to Venus and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is nearly ready to launch. Every space telescope besides the Hubble and the James Webb would be shut down. According to the American Astronomical Society, some cuts would include projects that help us understand the sun's effects on global communications, a potential national security threat. Casey Dreier, the policy advocate for the Pasadena-based Planetary Society, says, 'This is an extinction-level event for the Earth- and space-science communities, upending decades of work and tens of billions in taxpayers' investment.' Read more: Mars rocks are a science prize the U.S. can't afford to lose In addition, NASA as a whole would see a 20% cut — just as we are moving forward with the Artemis program. Artemis is NASA's step-by-step 'Moon to Mars' human spaceflight campaign. Artemis II is set to launch sometime next year and will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-by, the first time humans have been in close proximity to another celestial body in more than 50 years. While it seems likely that Artemis will continue in some fashion, a 20% overall agency budget cut won't leave any part of NASA unaffected. The president promised a 'golden age of America'; his nominee to head NASA promised a 'golden age of science and discovery.' This would be a return to the dark ages. Taking a blowtorch to space science would also have little effect on the federal budget while setting back American leadership in space — and the inspiration it provides across political divides — by generations. Read more: Earth 1, asteroids 0: The next generation of planetary defense takes shape at JPL The Astronomical Society warns that our cutbacks will outsource talent 'to other countries that are increasing their investments in facilities and workforce development.' And, as Dreier points out, spacecraft would be 'left to tumble aimlessly in space' and billions wasted that have already been spent. 'Thousands of bright students across the country,' he wrote recently, 'would be denied careers in science and engineering absent the fellowships and research funds to support them.' Here's the dollars-and-cents context. NASA's budget since the 1970s "hovers" between 1% and 0.4% of the federal discretionary spending, according to the Planetary Society's analysis, yet for every dollar spent, NASA generates $3 in the national economy. NASA's giveback was worth nearly $76 billion in economic impact in 2023, supporting more than 300,000 jobs. In California alone, NASA and its associated partners in industry and academia provide more than 66,000 jobs, more than $18 billion in economic activity and $1 billion in state tax revenue. NASA's bang-for-the-buck is astronomical, pun intended. Cutting waste is one thing. Evisceration is another. When it comes to science — from public health to climate change — the current administration is doing the latter, not the former. Read more: Saturn's moon looked like a snowy Utah landscape in my mind. The reality is just as compelling Meanwhile, China continues its space ambitions, with plans for a human lunar campaign and its own 'sample return' mission to the Red Planet. For now, fortunately, the bipartisan support for NASA seems to be holding. Democrats and Republicans in Congress, led by the Planetary Science Caucus, have spoken out against this attack on NASA. And the Planetary Society has engaged thousands of passionate activists to fight this battle. Humans yearn for connection to the universe — so we watch launches on social media, we follow the tracks of rovers on Mars and we marvel at creation in pictures transmitted from the James Webb Space Telescope. We borrow telescopes from the public library and look to the heavens. Bending metal — the actual process of making rovers and spaceships and telescopes — drives economic activity. Fascinating results — the data from space science missions — fires the imagination. We choose to go to space — sending humans and probes — and we pursue knowledge because curiosity is our evolutionary heritage. We explore other worlds to know them and, in doing so, we discover more about ourselves. If you agree, let Congress know. That may be the only backstop against dumbly going where no budget has gone before. Christopher Cokinos is a nature-and science writer whose most recent book is "Still as Bright: An Illuminating History of the Moon from Antiquity to Tomorrow." If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
