Cuts to scienceIsaacman would helm NASA as its workforce is bracing for potentially drastic cuts to the space agency’s science initiatives.
Cuts to scienceIsaacman would helm NASA as its workforce is bracing for potentially drastic cuts to the space agency’s science initiatives.
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While NASA is perhaps best known for its human spaceflight endeavors, it’s also responsible for carrying out billions of dollars’ worth of scientific research — including climate studies and space telescope projects that aim to investigate the origins of the universe.
Some NASA staffers have told CNN they are bracing for workforce reductions and budget cuts to the tune of 50%.
Cuts of that size would “have devastating consequences for both the country and for NASA,” said George Whitesides, the vice ranking member of the House science committee during a hearing on April 1.
It is not certain at this point, however, that NASA will be expected to make such drastic cuts. The Trump administration has not yet released its budget request, and NASA has not revealed the contents of an agency reorganization plan that leadership — including acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro — hashed out alongside DOGE in March.
Isaacman named science as one of his top priorities during opening remarks Wednesday.
“We will leverage NASA’s scientific talent and capabilities to enable academic institutions and industry to increase the rate of world-changing discoveries,” he said. “We will launch more telescopes, more probes, more rovers and endeavor to better understand our planet and the universe beyond.”
The future of the ISS and SLS
It’s also unclear whether Isaacman may seek to implement changes to plans involving other NASA programs, such as the International Space Station or Gateway, a space station NASA intends to put in orbit around the moon.
The football field-size International Space Statoin has continually hosted rotating crews of astronauts for nearly 25 years. NASA has insisted that it must have alternative space stations in orbit around Earth before the agency winds down ISS operations, which cost about $3 billion per year.
But Musk made waves in February when he publicly asserted that the space station has “served its purpose” and should be disposed of in the next couple of years — far faster than NASA’s current timeline to continue the orbiting laboratory’s operations through at least 2030.
When asked about the topic kra13 at Wednesday, Isaacman said he doesn’t “know of any reason why we should be bringing (the space station) down before what’s currently scheduled” — indicating he may not work to expedite its demise.
Isaacman, however, hedged when asked whether he might seek to cancel the Gateway program. “I have no intention — as of now — to say that I would cancel any program,” he said. “If I can get in the job and understand where things are at, I want to assure you and this committee that I want to see America win.”
Other issues on the table Wednesday included speculation that the Trump administration may move to cancel NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
When asked about SLS on Wednesday, Isaacman said on that he understands NASA’s current plan is to use the rocket to send astronauts to the moon.
“I do believe (SLS) is the best and fastest way to get there,” Isaacman said.
But, he added, “I don’t think it’s the long-term way to get to and from the moon and to Mars with great frequency.”