Shutting Down Our Eyes on the Earth—and Beyond

The current Administration wants to make big changes to NASA—shutting down our eyes on the Earth and beyond. They also want to stop the Agency from working on future science projects, especially those studying Earth and climate. Instead, their plan focuses on a smaller, “leaner” space agency that would send the first American astronaut to Mars. But scientists say this will end NASA’s longtime leadership in space science—and hurt our ability to understand the fast changes happening on Earth.

In May, the Trump administration shared a plan to cut NASA’s science budget nearly in half—from about $8 billion to $3.9 billion. While the final bill kept much of NASA’s overall funding, it slashed science and gave a big boost to space exploration. In the end, NASA’s science budget dropped by nearly $3.5 billion. The biggest hit? Earth Science. That means nearly 40 science missions could be canceled—missions the White House now calls “lower priority.”

Make no mistake—these cuts hurt our ability to track important things that affect our daily lives. That includes satellites and instruments that:

Guide us to important natural resources, like water and minerals

Help us understand weather and climate change

Support farmers with data on when and where to plant crops

Help communities get the facts they need to prepare for disasters and respond when they happen

Shutting Down NASA’s Eyes on the Earth

Image of NASA's OCO-2 satellite that measures carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It has two solar panels sticking out of each side of the satellite bus. This is one example of shutting down our Eyes on the Earth. — Image: the OCO-2 satellite Credit: NASA

The budget plan would blind our eyes on the Earth that are still working in space. That includes two important satellites called OCO-2 and OCO-3. These missions help scientists measure carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere by looking at how light is absorbed by the gas. This data helps us understand both natural carbon cycles and how much carbon pollution humans are adding to the air. The President’s budget also shuts down the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, along with three other stations that measure greenhouse gases. Together, these stations give the U.S. a full view of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases from the North Pole to the South Pole.

When these stations close, we lose one of the best ways to track the gases driving climate change—and they wouldn’t be easy to replace.

The plan would also stop work on other tools, like the ones on the Deep Space Climate Observatory, which watches Earth from space and tracks changes in space weather. Another instrument, SAGE III on the space station, measures ozone, water vapor, and other gases that affect the air we breathe.

The plan also ends three major satellites with big eyes on the Earth: Terra, Aqua, and Aura. They’ve been orbiting Earth for over 20 years, helping scientists study climate change. Even though Terra and Aqua are getting old, Aura still works well and can do something no other satellite can—measure the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists say Aura could keep going for several more years.

The cuts also cancel new science missions that haven’t started yet. One major project would study how clouds and storms form and how pollution affects them. This is important because clouds are one of the biggest wildcards in understanding how fast climate change will happen.

No More Eyes on the Arctic

The Trump administration’s budget cuts hit important data used to track climate change in the Arctic. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) will end support for key programs that help scientists trace sea ice, snow depth, and melting glaciers on July 31.

This is part of budget cuts from the Trump Administration. The data center, based at the University of Colorado Boulder, says the tools will still be online. But without updates, it will be much harder to know what’s really happening in the Arctic.

That’s a big problem. The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world. If we stop tracking it, it’s like turning off a smoke alarm during a fire—just because you don’t hear it doesn’t mean the danger is gone.

We need to keep our eyes on the Earth. Watching what’s changing helps us stay safe and make smart choices. Ignoring the problem won’t stop climate change—it just leaves us in the dark.

Shutting Down Our Eyes Beyond Earth

Juno spacecraft image of a central bus, three solar panels, and a magnetometer at the end of one of the solar panels. The magnetometer looks like an old fashioned needle threader. The Administration is not only shutting down our eyes on the Earth, but also our eyes on other planets and beyond. — Image: Juno satellite Credit: NASA

The cuts won’t just affect missions studying Earth—they also hit space missions exploring other planets.

The plan would stop the Juno mission, which is orbiting Jupiter. Juno helps scientists learn what’s inside the giant planet and shows us detailed pictures of its big moons. It would also end New Horizons, the spacecraft that gave us our first close-up look at Pluto. That spacecraft is now exploring a distant part of our solar system full of icy objects called the Kuiper Belt.

Another mission on the chopping block is OSIRIS-APEX. This mission is reusing a spacecraft that recently brought back pieces of an asteroid. Scientists planned to send it to study another asteroid called Apophis after it flies close to Earth in 2029—but that mission would be canceled too.

Several Mars missions would also come to an end, including Mars Odyssey and MAVEN. These satellites give us important data about the Red Planet. NASA would also stop funding its work on a European spacecraft called Mars Express.

The budget plan allows NASA to finish the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is about the same size as the famous Hubble Telescope and built to survey huge parts of the sky. But its funding decreases from $400 million down to $156 million—making it harder to finish on time or at full strength.

One major space science project on the cutting board is the Geospace Dynamics Constellation. It was a group of six satellites studying how energy from the Sun affects Earth’s magnetic field.

What NASA Centers Will Be Hit the Hardest?

Overall, the cuts will hit hard—especially at NASA’s two biggest science centers: the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I worked, and the Goddard Space Flight Center. The budget also plans to make big changes to other NASA programs that support U.S. agencies, like the next Landsat satellite (used to study Earth’s surface) and new weather satellites for NOAA.

Behind the scenes, thousands of dedicated workers—scientists, engineers, accountants, communicators, and support staff—are at risk of losing their jobs. These are the people who help us explore space and understand our changing planet. But as grants dry up and research projects vanish, many of them are being pushed out of the work they love.

How are they supposed to keep going when their life’s work is suddenly no longer funded?