Overview
- In back-to-back House and Senate hearings Monday and Tuesday, lawmakers from both parties said the $18.8 billion request was inadequate and signaled they may use the 2026 bill as their guide.
- The plan would slash NASA’s Science Mission Directorate by 46% to about $3.9 billion, and Administrator Jared Isaacman said missions listed as missing were not canceled and could lean on existing spacecraft, a defense that left many members unconvinced.
- Appropriators pressed for NASA’s detailed 2026 operating plan that explains how current-year money will be spent, and Isaacman said the agency expects the White House to send it to Congress next week.
- Isaacman said SpaceX and Blue Origin told NASA they expect to be ready for a Human Landing System rendezvous and docking test in Earth orbit by late 2027, which points to a slower Artemis timeline than previously discussed.
- NASA reaffirmed support for Europe’s Rosalind Franklin Mars rover, with Isaacman saying launch costs will come from 2026 funds, yet he did not identify where money for radioisotope heaters and retrorockets will be recorded, raising questions about the U.S. commitment to the mission.