The former Head of NASA sounded the alarm over drastic proposed budget cuts, accusing the Trump administration of savaging the agency and threatening major mission setbacks.
At a Glance
- Former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson labeled the cuts like wielding “a chainsaw and a meat-ax.”
- The budget would slash NASA’s funding from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, a near-25 percent drop.
- Science missions—including Earth and planetary programs—would face deep reductions.
- The Space Launch System (SLS), Orion, and Lunar Gateway could be terminated after Artemis III.
- Experts warn the US risks falling behind in Moon, Mars, and ISS efforts.
Budget Blues: Cuts That Cut Deep
Bill Nelson sharply condemned the Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget, calling it an existential threat to NASA’s science backbone. The $6 billion slash includes $2.3 billion from space science and nearly $1 billion from Earth observation initiatives. The cutbacks would gut programs tracking planetary change, monitoring climate dynamics, and studying Earth’s systems, while offering only marginal boosts to human spaceflight.
Watch a report: Former NASA head slams proposed Trump cuts
Artemis At Risk, Gateway Lives Hangs in Balance
The budget blueprint proposes terminating both the Space Launch System and Orion vehicles after Artemis III, killing off NASA’s next-generation lunar exploration architecture. With the Lunar Gateway potentially shelved, critics argue this move would permanently strand U.S. ambitions in cislunar space. The White House insists commercial partners like SpaceX can pick up the slack, but space experts see this as a dangerous overcorrection.
Private Partners & US Space Leadership
Reliance on firms like SpaceX has grown under the Artemis program, but observers warn that excessive privatization—without federal infrastructure—could derail strategic missions. NASA insiders caution that the proposed cuts could strain international collaborations, cripple science continuity, and leave the U.S. without a sovereign path to the Moon or Mars.
The Path Forward
Congressional hearings loom as lawmakers grapple with whether to ratify the cuts or rescue core agency functions. For now, advocates are rallying to shield Earth science, planetary discovery, and Artemis continuity from what Nelson has dubbed an “industrial chainsaw” approach to budgeting. The final funding outcome may decide whether NASA remains a space superpower—or yields its crown.
