Update, June 11: The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Budget Virtual Community Meeting originally scheduled for Thursday, June 12, has been postponed, according to a Wednesday update from NASA’s Katherine Rohloff. The delay will allow time for all NASA Mission Directorates to brief internal staff and hold discussions on the FY 2026 President’s Budget Request. In the meantime, community members are encouraged to continue submitting questions via the online form. NASA emphasized that these questions will help shape future decisions, adding, “SMD looks forward to connecting with the community and answering questions soon.”
The White House’s proposed 2026 budget includes sweeping cuts to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), slashing its funding by approximately 47 percent, as reported by the American Astronomical Society (AAS). The NASA science budget reductions would significantly impact programs across astrophysics, heliophysics, Earth science, and planetary science, raising concerns throughout the scientific community.
NASA will hold a Science Mission Directorate Budget Virtual Community Meeting on Thursday, June 12, 2025, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. ET. Associate Administrator Nicky Fox will lead the session, which aims to explain the proposed NASA science budget changes and gather feedback from the science and research communities.
The meeting will be open to the public via WebEx. To join, click the WebEx link and, when prompted, enter event number 2820 609 9132 and event password 9EjmaURnS87. The meeting will also be live-streamed on YouTube, and a recording will be available afterward.
The AAS has issued a call to action, urging scientists, students, and supporters of space science to contact their members of Congress. The AAS emphasized that the NASA science budget is only a request at this stage, and legislative action could still modify the final appropriations. In a statement, the organization warned that the proposed cuts “pose an existential threat to our disciplines.”
The situation is further complicated by the cancellation of NASA Town Hall sessions at the ongoing 246th AAS Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, eliminating a traditional venue for discussion between agency leadership and professional astronomers. With those meetings off the table, the June 12 virtual session becomes a key opportunity for the scientific community to engage directly with NASA decision-makers and express their concerns about the future of U.S. space science.
