[BREAKING] The Planetary Society and 14 partner organizations released a joint letter calling for explicit NASA science protections in Congress's stopgap spending bill. Read it here: www.planetary.org/press-releas...

JUST IN! Congress is considering a stopgap bill to keep the government open through Nov. 20. OMB is planning to cut billions from NASA during this, risking paid-for missions and thousands of jobs. Tell Congress to protect NASA science and prevent these cuts: www.planetary.org/advocacy-act...

In my latest piece for The Planetary Report, I argue that we’ve largely lost the rhetorical ability to defend the unquantifiable values of space exploration—beauty, curiosity, discovery—in the face of an unrelenting focus on utilitarian pragmatism. www.planetary.org/articles/a-c...

[DATA UPDATE]: The rate of new grants at NASA increased in August, but the agency is still on track to award nearly 20% fewer grants in 2025 vs 2024:

Credit to Sean Duffy today for showing up today and getting excited about this potential biosignature discovery. He wasn't involved in this budget process, and this is an great moment to engage and build his excitement for NASA science. Huge opportunity for science community!

Here's what I hope to see answered in today's Mars discovery announcement: - Perseverance is facing a 23% budget cut next year — will this be reconsidered? - Will this reignite the effort to pursue MSR? - If not, are humans expected to return these samples? When? Can humans land at Jezero?

I'm very excited to welcome Ari Koeppel as our new (and first!) AAAS Policy Fellow. He will join us in D.C. to assist in our outreach and space policy efforts during this critical time. And a huge THANK YOU to our members who enabled this new program. Learn more: www.planetary.org/articles/int...

This will be an exciting announcement. But Perseverance is facing a 23% budget cut to operations in FY 2026 that will directly impact the ability to make more discoveries like this going forward. www.nasa.gov/news-release...

The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer is my guest on this month’s Space Policy Edition podcast. We discuss his feature article, “How NASA Engineered its Own Decline”, and much more. Don’t miss this one! www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...

If our elected leaders truly believe we're in a new space race with China, then we cannot afford to abandon space science. Read the NEW OP-ED by me and Maxwell Zhu today in Payload Space: payloadspace.com/op-ed-space-...

NASA's Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA) website has been down for at least a week now — has anyone heard anything about why that may be the case? nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

Great piece on our joint Save NASA Science Day of Action in today's Polaris newsletter! Still time to register at planetary.org/dayofaction payloadspace.com/organization...

New analysis: NASA is awarding new grants at a significantly lower rate in 2025 than in prior years:

Two NEW partners just joined our Save NASA Science Day of Action in Washington, D.C. this October 5th & 6th! Learn more and register to join us: planetary.org/dayofaction

This is a shocking executive order that undermines the very idea of open inquiry. It turns federal grants into dispensations, subject to arbitrary and capricious withdrawal should the recipient say or believe the wrong things. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

"Senior appointees and their designees shall not ministerially ratify or routinely defer to the recommendations of others in reviewing funding opportunity announcements or discretionary awards, but shall instead use their independent judgment."

With all the news around putting a fission reactor on the Moon, it's a good time revisit my (quite timely!) interview with Bhavya Lal, who wrote the report that influenced yesterday's announcement: www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...

Well...the Senate did pass three appropriations bills, but CJS wasn't one of them. Sen Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is blocking the CJS bill because of the FBI HQ issue even tho that means blocking $ for NASA's many activities in the state (Goddard, STScI, APL), too, and lots more.

I had a great time speaking with Bhavya Lal about the need for in-space nuclear power on this month's Space Policy Edition podcast. Available now on Apple, Spotify, or at planetary.org/radio

We're continuing to roll out more details of the Save NASA Science Day of Action on October 6th! FAQ ➡ www.planetary.org/advocacy/day... Online Action Pledge ➡ www.planetary.org/pledge-to-ac... Learn more & register ➡ planetary.org/dayofaction

Excited to announce our 2nd Day of Action in Washington, D.C. Oct 5th & 6th. And we're not alone! We're joined by 10 partner organizations to help Save NASA Science. Learn more & register: planetary.org/dayofaction

My latest: Polar scientists warn that the White House and NSF are planning to terminate the Nathaniel Palmer, the only US research icebreaker capable of handling Antarctic extremes, this October. So far the plan has seen minimal pushback from Congress.

Senate Approps cmte recommendations for NASA overall and NASA science:

NEW: Planetary Society statement commending Congress for rejecting the extreme degree of cuts proposed to NASA and NASA science: www.planetary.org/press-releas...

House Appropriators Also Reject Trump-Proposed NASA Cuts, Fund National Space Council spacepolicyonline.com/news/house-a...

What’s really at stake if NASA’s science budget gets slashed and entire science missions are canceled? We asked the scientists leading those missions, and their stories reveal what we all stand to lose. Here’s what they told us: www.planetary.org/articles/sci...

I'm about to go live with Kyle Hill on YouTube to talk about the proposed cuts to NASA and space science: www.youtube.com/live/hH7YZlE...

Today, *every* living prior leader of NASA's science directorate have released a joint letter condemning the proposed cuts to NASA science. These individuals every administration from Reagan to Biden, and all believe these cuts are insanely destructive: www.planetary.org/press-releas...

The Senate reconciliation bill passed yesterday is separate from the annual appropriations process, which determines funding for our federal science agencies. Learn more about the differences here: aas.org/posts/news/2...

NASA appears to be pressuring mission leaders to think of the White House's FY26 budget proposal as an operating plan (i.e., work to close out missions even though Congress hasn't decided on the budget yet): arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

Bonus episode of the Space Policy Edition podcast today! Alicia Brown from the Commercial Space Federation and Brittany Webster from the American Geophysical Union join the show to discuss NASA’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...

“Enduring space policy requires consensus. It is the essential element that sustains activities that exceed election cycles.” A must-read opinion article from @caseydreier.bsky.social about proposed cuts to NASA

"To associate Mars exploration with the devastation of American space science...to tie it to the alienation of our allies and partners, is to doom the effort to failure. Mars deserves better." - @caseydreier.bsky.social Humans deserve better too. spacenews.com/the-administ...

In case you missed it @caseydreier.bsky.social with Jack Kiraly prepared a piece for #TheSpaceReview on why the 2026 NASA Budget Request is basically an abomination. www.thespacereview.com/article/5007/1

The administration’s anti-consensus Mars plan will fail The White House’s FY 2026 budget request for NASA proposes a radical shift in the agency’s direction, proposing extinction-level cuts to space science, severe cuts in other program areas and a dramatic pivot of human spaceflight focus to Mars.

Don’t miss my new op-ed in SpaceNews about the self-defeating nature of the 2026 NASA budget proposal: spacenews.com/the-administ...

For those of you who missed it ( or had a prior commitment like I did ) Here is yesterday's NASA Budget Briefing with the @planetarysociety.bsky.social . It runs a little over 90 minutes www.youtube.com/watch?v=brzs...

I know I've posted this before, but you REALLY need to read this piece by @caseydreier.bsky.social if you care about the US Civil Space Program and the Trump Administration's plans for FY 2026 www.planetary.org/articles/nas...

Our NASA Briefing Webinar starts in 5 minutes! Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

NASA may have postponed its briefing on the SMD budget that was supposed to take place tomorrow (June 12), but Casey Dreier at The Planetary Society is going to fill the void. TPS obviously doesn't speak for NASA, but Casey knows a lot about the budget request and what's happening in Congress.

The Planetary Society will provide a NASA budget briefing on Thursday, June 12, at 12pm ET! We'll answer the top-rated scientific community questions, share everything we know, and give you our expert perspective on what's going on. Register for free here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

We are in the final days of our effort to collect signatories on our petition to protect NASA science and SO CLOSE to our 20,000 signatory goal. ANYONE in the world can sign. Help us reach our goal: planet.ly/petition

You can watch the full interview, which includes discussion of national security and commercial space topics as well, here: spacenews.com/live-a-conve...

Seven charts that show the perilous situation NASA is facing. www.planetary.org/articles/nas...

Our global petition to save NASA science closes this Thursday, and we’re just shy of 15,000 signatures! Every name counts, this petition will be hand-delivered to members of Congress. Add yours today, Save NASA Science. planet.ly/petition

The 2026 White House budget directs NASA to send humans to the Moon AND Mars with the smallest civil servant workforce since FY 1960...which began in the summer of 1959. Clearly, the outcome of a "cut first, justify later" approach. This is not a serious proposal (albeit very destructive).

New Podcast Episode: This Week in Space: Goodbye NASA? An Era May be Ending with Rod Pyle, @tariqjmalik.bsky.social, @caseydreier.bsky.social

Don't miss our new NASA Science spending and economic impact resource at dashboards.planetary.org/nasa-science.html — see space science spending in every state and congressional district and custom reports for each region. A unique resource.

🟡 SCOOP: The White House is likely to pull the nomination of Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA administrator, just days before he was set to receive a confirmation vote in the Senate.

Four charts showing the extent of cuts to NASA in the FY26 budget: - Cuts to every science division - Smallest science funding since 1984 - 19 active, inflight missions cancelled - Smallest NASA budget since FY 1961