Overview
- OMB, which released the fiscal 2027 plan Friday, set NASA’s top line at $18.8 billion, a 23% cut from the $24.4 billion Congress approved for 2026.
- The request boosts human lunar exploration to about $8.5 billion, adds $175 million for robotic work toward a lunar base, and targets a crewed Moon landing in 2028.
- Science would drop by $3.4 billion, or 47%, with OMB saying it would terminate more than 40 missions that include large efforts like Mars Sample Return and small programs like SERVIR.
- ISS operations would fall by $1.1 billion as the White House cites the station’s coming retirement and shifts focus to commercial stations, even as NASA rethinks that transition plan.
- The proposal also cuts Space Technology by $297 million and seeks to end NASA’s STEM Engagement programs, while asking Congress to repurpose $2.6 billion from the planned Gateway outpost to a lunar base, a move many in Congress have already signaled they will challenge with calls for more science funding.