Congress throws NASA a lifeline, leaves Mars sample mission to die in the dust
- Reference: 1768568053
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/01/16/nasa_science_budget/
- Source link:
A [1]joint explanatory statement was released earlier this month, and lawmakers have passed the bill. The legislation, [2]passed with 82 senators voting for it, 15 against, and three abstaining, reverses an earlier proposal that would have [3]cut NASA's overall budget by nearly 25 percent and halved science spending – potentially shutting down many active missions.
Instead, NASA will receive only slightly less than in recent years, though inflation reduces actual spending power.
[4]
In a [5]statement , Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said: "The bill rejects the administration's devastating proposal to cut NASA Science by 47 percent and terminate 55 operating and planned missions."
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In [8]remarks made on the Senate floor, Van Hollen said: "We won't have a space program if we don't understand what's happening in space and get to the fundamentals of science in space."
[9]Congress ctrl-Zs bulk of proposed cuts to NASA science
[10]Isaacman finally confirmed as NASA boss after Trump derailed first attempt
[11]We'll beat China to the Moon, NASA nominee declares
[12]NASA nominee 'committed' to uprooting Shuttle Discovery for Houston trophy piece
However, the budget appears to be the final blow for Mars Sample Return. While the Perseverance rover is collecting samples on Mars, whether the rover's containers will ever be returned to Earth for analysis is debatable.
The budget requirement for the ambitious mission ballooned as engineers grappled with the challenges, leading then NASA Administrator Bill Nelson to call for [13]alternatives that could return samples more quickly and cheaply.
NASA [14]whittled down the options by the start of 2025, but it looks like another option – cancel the whole thing altogether – will be the final outcome.
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The budget, should President Donald Trump sign it off, will come as a relief to the majority of the US space agency and its supporters.
In an email to The Reg , The Planetary Society said: "With this budget, missions such as New Horizons beyond Pluto, VIPER (looking for water resources on the Moon), and the Apophis Explorer, set to study a hazardous asteroid that will barely miss Earth in 2029, will continue operations." ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/06/nasa_science_budget_boost/
[2] https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00011.htm
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/02/nasa_funding_slashed/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aWpuvWUpTMwko5BdQgwEfQAAAlI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-statement-on-senate-passage-of-commerce-justice-science-and-related-agencies-fy-2026-appropriations-bill
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aWpuvWUpTMwko5BdQgwEfQAAAlI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aWpuvWUpTMwko5BdQgwEfQAAAlI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://youtu.be/AFANi1fHq-s
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/06/nasa_science_budget_boost/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/18/isaacman_given_nod_as_nasa/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/04/beat_china_moon_nasa_nominee/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/02/isaacman_discovery_relocation/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/nasa_msr_mission_update/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/08/nasa_whittles_down_mars_sample/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aWpuvWUpTMwko5BdQgwEfQAAAlI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: China?
I'd think that was perfectly acceptable. If they were being really savvy they'd return the canisters to NASA once emptied.
Re: China?
Couldn't Elon pick them up when he gets to Mars and bring them back again? According to the man's own words, that's likely to occur before the Chinese get there.
Re: China?
China's [1]Mars sample return mission will collect samples from the landing site or nearby. They would only be able to collect one of the NASA/ESA samples if they aimed for one and the lander arrived spot on. The NASA/ESA plan included two helicopters to retrieve scattered samples and deliver them to the ascent vehicle at the landing site. The US plan is more ambitious and would likely target more interesting samples. The Chinese are making steady progress and would likely get samples back first even if the US government funded a mission. The US plan looked as likely to be completed within budget and on schedule as [2]constellation - even before NASA's budget was threatened.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianwen-3
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation_program
Mars samples.
If someone could whisper in DJT's ear that the chinese think there is unobtainium in the samples..... Trump would up NASA's budget from the 'Trillions' he made from his favorite word tariffs!
Re: Mars samples.
Nah, just say they're made of pure 48 carat solid gold.
Much purerier than anyone elses gold, twice as biggly much in fact...
(with apologies to my native tongue for the mangling).
They have approved budget for a new MSR proposal. To be honest, the current proposal had got out of hand. It was way too complicated, running late and over budget.
Rook has said several times that he thinks NASA is overstaffed with paper pushers and has too many centres of operations so was looking at making better use of the budget but don't know how long it will take to make changes. He's currently touring the various facilities.
China?
What if they did a sample return mission to Mars... Only go along and pickup the ready packed samples.
Finders keepers?