The White House has expressed intentions to cancel the THEMIS mission, which involves two spacecraft orbiting the Moon to investigate the lunar magnetic field. Vassilis Angelopoulos, the lead scientist for the project at the University of California, Los Angeles, reported that his team will receive “partial funding” for the fiscal year 2026.
“While this is a positive development, it unfortunately means that scientific personnel are facing budget cuts,” Angelopoulos informed Ars. “The implication is that the U.S. is not fully realizing the scientific benefits from its significant investments in technology, which amount to billions of dollars.”
Artist’s concept of NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft, which has been orbiting Mars since 2014 to study the planet’s upper atmosphere.
According to the Planetary Society, a science advocacy group, the missions that are slated for cancellation, instigated by the Trump administration, represent a combined investment of $12 billion in design and development. An analysis by Ars determined that the operational missions targeted for funding cuts cost taxpayers less than $300 million annually, representing only 1 to 2 percent of NASA’s overall budget.
Supporters of NASA’s science initiatives convened at the U.S. Capitol this week to emphasize the potential consequences of these cuts. Angelopoulos remarked that the mounting pressure from the scientific community and the public appears to be having an impact.
“I view the recent actions related to the House budget as a sign that constituent advocacy is making a difference,” he noted. “However, we are already witnessing negative outcomes. Even if funding is restored, we have already lost valuable personnel.”
Concerns remain among scientists that the Trump administration may seek to limit funding for specific programs, even with congressional approval. This could lead to legal disputes.
Bruce Jakosky, former principal investigator of the MAVEN Mars mission, expressed this concern, highlighting a “positive step” that NASA is planning under the assumption of receiving the budget proposed by the House. Nevertheless, he cautioned about potential pitfalls.
“Even if the congressional budget is enacted into law, the President has previously shown a willingness to withhold funds that have been legally allocated,” Jakosky remarked in an email to Ars. “This indicates that simply having a budget isn’t the end of the issue—funds must actually be disbursed to the MAVEN science and operations teams. Only once the money is truly spent can we be confident that it won’t be reverted.”
“This uncertainty will linger throughout the entire fiscal year,” he added, “and such ambiguity is likely to affect morale.”
