Universe’s mysteries may never be solved because of Trump’s Nasa cuts, experts say
www.theguardian.com
‘Extinction-level cuts’ to space agency’s spending means labs will close and deep-space missions will be abandoned

‘Extinction-level cuts’ to space agency’s spending means labs will close and deep-space missions will be abandoned

Some of the greatest mysteries of the universe, such as the possibility of life on Mars or Venus, may never be solved because of Donald Trump’s proposed “extinction-level” cuts to Nasa spending, scientists are warning.

The Trump administration revealed last month its plan to slash the space agency’s overall budget by 24% to $18.8bn, the lowest figure since 2015. Space and Earth science missions would bear the brunt of the cutbacks, losing more than 53% of what was allocated to them in 2024.

If the budget is approved by Congress, opponents say, longstanding Nasa labs will close, deep-space missions, including many already under way, will be abandoned, and a new generation of exploration and discovery will never reach the launchpad.

  • MudMan@fedia.io
    21·
    3 days ago

    Right.

    I swear, Americans are so utterly convinced that they are the main character in the full arc of the planet. Every American I know is sure we are two days away from the apocalypse (alternate a US civil war) and entirely unwilling to take any steps to prevent it. It’s kind of shocking.

    I mean, those things are bad, and reward structures are what they are, so global change is hard to enact, but yeah, no, the fall of the US empire is probably not a global apocalypse.

    More likely than not a messed up planet in the midst of a global recession will see significant challenges with the US as a superpower remnant very much in the line of modern Russia, because hey, the cleptocracy comes standard.

    That’s not the end of civilization by a lot. And just so we’re clear, even as the USSR was crumbling they had a working space program. The rest of the world can keep strapping things to rockets.

    And that’s assuming that the real goal, which again seems to be to privatize the sector and hand it over to rich idiots with delusions of grandeur, doesn’t refocus on this. Lord knows Musk will obnoxiously babble about multiplanetary civilization to anybody who will listen like nobody else has read Dune or something.