Trump's NASA budget cut jeopardises lunar ambitions
The Donald Trump administration is seeking savings, and one of their sources is expected to be a 25 percent reduction in NASA's budget. The financial cuts will inevitably affect the space agency's programmes and mean the end of the development of the SLS rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the Lunar Gateway base.
NASA's budget, which is currently about $25 (£19) billion, is expected to be reduced to $19 (£14) billion next year, according to documents containing recommendations for next year's United States budget, published by the Office of Management and Budget.
The 25 percent savings need to impact not only the agency's current operations but also its research projects and long-term programmes. Although the USA is formally not giving up on the prestigious race for a manned moon landing, Donald Trump wants to end work on the solutions that were expected to make it possible in the near future.
Instead of the agency's programmes, which are to be gradually phased out, commercial solutions are preferred, providing - according to the authors of the recommendations - a better cost-to-effectiveness ratio.
The end of the great rocket
The SLS rocket, among others, will fall victim to the cuts, having been deemed too expensive and - due to an exceeded budget - unfeasible. The presidential recommendation notes:
The SLS, or Space Launch System, is a heavy launch vehicle which - according to previous plans - was supposed to take humans to the Moon in the not-too-distant future. The powerful rocket in the currently tested version (first launch in 2022) Block 1 is 98 meters tall and can carry up to 70,000 kilograms of payload to low Earth orbit (LEO).
Its developmental variant – Block 2 – was supposed to be 11 meters longer and capable of carrying up to 130,000 kilograms of payload to LEO. SLS rockets were to send Orion spacecraft into space, which – in a crewed version – were developed for lunar and Mars exploration.
Cancellation of the SLS, Orion, and Gateway programmes
These plans – if the presidential recommendations are maintained – are no longer valid. Both the SLS programme, which has cost about $35 (£26) billion so far, and the development of the Orion spacecraft, which has cost about $26 (£19,5) billion, are to be cancelled.
The programme for building the Gateway base, which was supposed to operate in lunar orbit from 2027, is also to be ended. Its first, most crucial module HALO was completed in early April 2025.
