Particle.news
Download on the App Store
14 ARTICLES
·
yesterday

Congress Unveils FY2026 Deal Restoring NASA Science and Recasting Mars Plans

The bipartisan package sets NASA at $24.438 billion with $7.25 billion for science pending final approval.

Image
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now fully assembled following the integration of its two major segments on Nov. 25, 2025 at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Marylandd. The mission is slated to launch by May 2027, but the team is on track for launch as early as fall 2026. (Jolearra Tshiteya/NASA)
Image
Image

Overview

  • NASA would receive $24.438 billion in FY2026, holding near FY2025 levels and far above the administration’s $18.8 billion request.
  • The bill provides $7.25 billion for NASA science and preserves key efforts such as Roman, Venus’s DAVINCI, a Uranus mission study, and early work on the Habitable Worlds Observatory.
  • Appropriators do not support the existing Mars Sample Return program and instead allocate $110 million to a new Mars Future Missions line focused on technologies like radar, spectroscopy, and entry, descent, and landing systems.
  • The agreement rejects ending SLS and Orion after Artemis III and bars shifting Moon-to-Mars transportation funds until a commercial alternative demonstrates comparable capability.
  • The package retains NASA’s STEM Engagement at $143 million and boosts broader science stability, including roughly $8.8 billion for NSF, while House and Senate votes and the president’s signature are still required before the Jan. 30 deadline.