Introduction
What happens when a country that once led the space race decides to slow its momentum? The Trump administration recently gained approval for the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. Under this bill, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other space facilities faced significant budget cuts. From this cut, nearly 1/3 of NASA's space programs and missions were eliminated.
The United States’ funding for space exploration should not be cut, as it embodies the values of leadership in space, delivers real-world benefits on Earth, and costs senior-level scientists their jobs and lifelong contributions to their field.
President Donald Trump after signing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Friday, July 4, 2025, in Washington. / Credit: Evan Vucci / AP
What is Affected?
For the upcoming fiscal year of 2026, President Trump proposed a ‘skinny budget’. A budget cut of nearly 25% for NASA, which approximates to nearly 6 billion dollars, 3.4 billion of which in the science programs (47%); the largest budget cut in the history of NASA (Wall, 2025).
During this cut, Earth science programs such as climate monitoring were targeted, and STEM- related programs were nearly annihilated.
Who is Affected?
NASA is now set to lose a minimum of 2,145 senior employees due to the push by the White House. The employees leaving are a part of the GS-13 to GS-15 groups, which are senior government-level employees (Skove, 2025). This scarce level of experience is a huge loss for NASA and its decades of contributions. These are not entry-level employees; these are scientists, engineers, and leaders who have undergone substantial missions and developed cutting-edge technology. These scientists and engineers are the ones who have upheld NASA's reputation and objectives for years, now lost due to this budget cut.
Why Is This Even a Problem?
A common opposing viewpoint is, "Why don't we use this large funding for more pressing issues in the world right now?" There are many threatening issues currently, such as climate change, poverty, education, healthcare, and racial inequality. From this perspective, why don't we use the resources spent on NASA and other space facilities on real and immediate human needs?
The Simple Answer
While it is true we face many issues that need urgent attention, such as poverty, education and health care, cutting space funding won't solve these problems. In fact, it will make some of these issues worse.
NASA's work directly contributes to real-world solutions. In impoverished areas around the world, NASA uses Earth observation satellites to collect data for a wide range of uses, from planning agriculture to disaster management. This has contributed to helping the most vulnerable and poorest countries internationally (NASA, 2007).
NASA is not a catalyst for resources, but rather a helpful solution, because this is a real and immediate need, not just for humans, but for our planet as well.
Our Climate
An ongoing issue with our climate right now is the ice caps melting at an exponential rate in Antarctica. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC, 2025), the sea ice in Antarctica reached its minimum extent for the entire year. Measuring only at 1.98 million square kilometers, a near-record low. This dramatic loss of ice has serious implications for global sea level rise and alterations in the global weather patterns. A prominent issue, NASA’s Operation Ice Bridge monitors.
Most know NASA as an aeronautics or astronautics agency; however, they play vital roles in technology innovation and supporting climate research as well. In the 1970's there was an energy crisis, followed by rising fuel costs. NASA saw this as a serious issue and began research programs in alternative energy and energy conservation. Eventually, NASA conducted investigations into the impact of human activities and climate change. Fortunately, in 1974, The NASA Authorization Act was passed. This meant NASA was granted permission and funds to research energy-related efforts (Lyons, 2009). This commitment NASA holds to our climate has not faded. In 2024, President Joe Biden signed The NASA Authorization Act, which was committed to supporting Earth science research, evaluating greenhouse gas detection, and distributing relevant Earth science data to the agriculture industry (U.S. Congress, 2024).
NASA continues this work today with missions like Operation Ice Bridge, which monitors polar ice to better understand why the sea levels are rising and climate change. As supported, NASA is active and committed to climate research, ongoing detection, and climate technology and innovation.
Click the link below to learn more about NASA's Operation Ice Bridge
Why The U.S. Needs to Maintain Space Leadership
Maintaining U.S. leadership in space is crucial for the United States’ security and peace worldwide. Currently, the United States ranks number one in the world in space leadership and exploration (Unicus Olympiads, 2025). However, countries like China and Russia are potentially threatening this position, with close leadership. As of 2023, there are 5,465 satellites in orbit, with the U.S. in possession of 3,433 of them, while China controls 541. Now, this may seem like a significant difference, but China does state they are on track to have “thousands of its own satellites in the not-too-distant future” (Fenling, 2025).
According to Cross, the director of the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, “The biggest takeaway is to encourage the United States to continue to be a leader in space.” While weaponization in space has not happened yet, militaries are dependent on satellites for weaponization, targeting, and surveillance, and as stated above, China does have plans on potentially surpassing the United States’ satellite count in the near future. If China passes the U.S. in satellite dominance, it could change the global balance, making it critical that the U.S. maintains its leadership.
With the recent passing of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, this could very well change our dominance of space. If China passes the U.S. in satellite control, it could change the global balance and safety, making it critical that the U.S. maintains its leadership.
In Summary
Cutting such a drastic amount of NASA’s and other space organizations’ budget not only affects the company, but also the employees, the future of human civilization, and our current standing in leadership positions. The threats we face today, and in the future, climate change, technological advances, and space leadership are all tied to budget decisions and political power. As a society, we cannot afford these consequences. We may grow old and die of old age, but what will the next generation die of?
Discover how space exploration improves life on Earth and why investing in it is critical to our future, explore more below.
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