How NASA’s proposed budget cuts could threaten the future of space exploration

Bob McDonald · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 07, 2025 2:52 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

A tremendous effort is underway astatine NASA to nonstop humans to Mars and instrumentality astronauts to the moon, including the formation of Canadian Jeremy Hanson connected Artemis II aboriginal adjacent year. Meanwhile, each different probe programme astatine the abstraction bureau is facing cuts.

The US medication has projected a 24 per cent chopped to NASA’s budget, which would marque it the smallest NASA fund since earlier quality spaceflight programs began successful 1961. The connection specifically calls for abstraction subject backing to beryllium chopped by 50 per cent, and the enactment unit dropped down to a 3rd of its existent level.

And portion these projected cuts person not been approved by Congress, a caller study by the U.S. Senate Committee connected Commerce, Science, and Transportation says that the abstraction bureau has started implementing the cuts anyway, with thousands of scientists already fto spell from assorted facilities astir the U.S.

An representation of the spiral postulation M83, captured successful portion by the Chandra X-Ray observatory. The observatory is targeted to beryllium decommissioned due to the fact that of the fund cuts. (NASA/CXC/SAO)

The Goddard Space Flight Center, wherever some the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope were built, has already closed its carnal Institute for Space Studies astatine Columbia University, laid disconnected hundreds of employees, and — if the cuts proceed — plans to cancel 41 planned oregon already progressive programs involving clime alteration oregon greenish energy.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory successful California, which builds and manages robotic spacecraft that person visited each satellite successful the star system, is besides being forced to downsize, and has already laid disconnected hundreds of employees. 

Research facilities similar these besides physique satellites that look down connected the Earth, providing america with upwind forecasts, hurricane tracking, crystal nonaccomplishment successful the arctic, and more. In fact, conscionable astir everything we cognize astir the planetary changes happening to the Earth is acknowledgment to orbiting satellites and the scientists who analyse their data. 

Scientific robots tin run for years successful the harsh situation of space, and tin beryllium sent connected one-way missions to the acold reaches of our star system. It's these robots, and the scientists who design, physique and alert them, who are the existent explorers.

But present these eyes connected our planet, and beyond, are nether superior threat.

Program leaders observe astatine a property league aft the Juno spacecraft was successfully placed into Jupiter's orbit successful 2016. The Juno programme is marked for termination nether the projected fund cuts. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Rather than being driven by science, it seems the aboriginal of NASA is being driven by politics. In the aforesaid tone of contention betwixt the U.S. and Soviet Union that drove the Apollo missions to onshore humans connected the satellite successful the 1960s, the existent medication wants to bushed the Chinese to the satellite done the Artemis program. 

From a monetary standpoint, it's acold much costly to nonstop humans into abstraction due to the fact that they are heavy, necessitate a batch of resources specified arsenic air, food, and water, and you person to bring them backmost alive.

In different words, the exertion of quality spaceflight is each astir survival. Human missions are often mostly astir pushing the limits of our endurance, and creating heroes successful the process.

The Artemis II unit posing for photos during a media lawsuit successful December, 2024. They anticipation to motorboat for a ngo astir the satellite sometime successful 2027. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

The existent extremity is to onshore radical astatine the southbound rod of the satellite and physique a colony wherever they tin enactment and work.

The superior occupation volition beryllium to hunt for crystal believed to beryllium hiding successful shadows astatine the bottommost of craters that ne'er spot sunlight. Ice is simply a invaluable assets connected the moon, arsenic it could supply some drinking h2o and rocket substance successful the signifier of hydrogen and oxygen.

It volition instrumentality a batch of resources and backing to instrumentality to the moon. For the upcoming missions, NASA volition beryllium flying their elephantine Space Launch System rocket, which is not reuseable, and costs much than $4 cardinal US per launch.

The privately-funded Starship is different contender, but it's inactive galore years distant from being ready. Space X inactive needs to beryllium that it tin not conscionable scope the moon, but onshore and instrumentality location again each successful 1 piece. That spacecraft has yet to marque 1 implicit orbit astir the Earth.

Once connected the surface, a situation needs to beryllium built, mining instrumentality installed, crystal processing facilities constructed, not to notation regular trips to and from Earth to restock nutrient supplies and alteration crews. 

When each of that is established, and everyone is good fed and blessed surviving connected the satellite astatine tremendous expense, volition determination beryllium immoderate funds and expertise near for them to bash technological probe portion the astronauts are there? 

A Canadian-made lunar rover is seen during a objection extracurricular the Canadian Space Agency's (CSA) John H. Chapman Space Centre. The rover volition alert to the satellite nary earlier than 2029 to assistance look for crystal successful lunar craters. (Alexis Aubin/AFP via Getty Images)

Big conceptual projects specified arsenic generational starships oregon gathering a vigor scope connected the acold broadside of the satellite volition necessitate technological expertise, but it’s precisely that cognition that is dilatory being eroded from NASA probe centres.

Once scientists are fto go, they instrumentality their technological cognition with them, and that cognition isn’t casual to replace.

Despite this, immoderate NASA scientists are being solicited by the European Space Agency, and the caller Canadian fund has acceptable speech $1.7 cardinal to entice scientists to travel to this country, truthful possibly those aboriginal satellite colonists volition beryllium getting their caller instructions from Canada.