Trump wants to cut $6 billion from NASA and axe Moon space station plan to focus on Mars

Houston, we've got a problem - and a pretty major one, at that.

Donald Trump's government has proposed what space experts are calling a 'destructive' $6 billion cut to NASA's budget.

This is set to impact some of its historic missions, including its plan to bring rock samples back from Mars and create a space station orbiting the Moon.

Projects tracking climate change, wildfires and extreme weather conditions could also be on the chopping block.

The cut would see 47 percent of NASA's science budget disappear - the 'largest, single-year cut to the space agency in history'.

However, the White House is still insisting its goal is to beat China back to the Moon and eventually land an American on Mars.

This is particularly interesting given Elon Musk's government budget-busting DOGE role, as well as his keen interest in colonizing Mars as SpaceX CEO.

Critics are calling the proposed cuts a reckless move that guts the science, kills jobs, and wastes billions in past investments.

What's more, this is all happening while NASA doesn’t even have an official administrator confirmed.

The Planetary Society responded to the news, writing, in part, in a statement: "Slashing NASA’s budget by this much, this quickly, without the input of a confirmed NASA Administrator or in response to a considered policy goal, won’t make the agency more efficient - it will cause chaos, waste the taxpayers’ investment, and undermine American leadership in space."

Mars' Perseverance rover has been busy collecting rock samples - which now, may never return to Earth (NASA/Getty Images)

It continued: "Additionally, this budget, as overseen by OMB Director Russ Vought, is not supportive of President Trump’s own stated goal that America must 'lead the way in fueling the pursuit of space discovery and exploration.' The OMB’s budget proposal is fundamentally at odds with the President’s vision for American space leadership."

What could be impacted by NASA cuts?

NASA’s ambitious Mars Sample Return mission, set for the early 2030s, aimed to bring pieces of Mars back to Earth for the very first time.

Its Perseverance rover has been collecting samples since its successful landing in February 2021.

The complex, multi-agency effort to retrieve the samples - involving NASA and the European Space Agency - was due to take place around 2028.

But now, the mission could face cancellation due to the proposed budget cuts.

The US is still determined to beat China in the Moon race (Alex Dean/Getty Images)

Sadly, years of planning, billions invested, and hopes of unlocking Mars’ secrets could be scrapped before the samples even leave the ground.

NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft - the backbone of the Artemis program, designed to send astronauts back to the Moon and eventually to Mars - could also be lost.

Crucial for deep space travel, they could be retired after only a couple of flights, leaving NASA without its own ride for astronauts beyond Earth's orbit.

Finally, the Lunar Gateway - a mini space station that orbits the Moon - could also be axed

It’s a joint effort with international partners and is meant to support astronauts during future Moon landings.

Scrapping it would weaken international collaboration - and threaten any future lunar missions.

UNILAD has contacted NASA for comment.

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