File:NASA Earth Science Is Under Assault -- by the US President --.png

• https://www.space.com/space-exploration/nasa-administrator-says-the-agency-will-move-aside-from-climate-sciences-to-focus-on-exploring-moon-and-mars

😵‍💫 A highest priority now is to put a nuclear reactor on the Moon, says Trump's man who is directing NASA

The remarks echo President Trump's NASA budget proposal, which seeks steep cuts to NASA's Earth science initiatives, potentially putting several key missions at risk and raising concerns among researchers about gaps in climate monitoring and weather forecasts.

Speaking on Fox Business on Aug. 14, Duffy said NASA's purpose is the exploration of space — not Earth's climate. "All of the climate science and all of the other priorities that the last administration had at NASA, we're going to move aside," Duffy told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. "All of the science that we do is going to be directed towards exploration, which is the mission of NASA. That's why we have NASA, is to explore, not to do all of these earth sciences," he said....

NASA's Earth science program has long stood as the world's largest provider of climate and weather data, though both of Trump's presidential terms have sought to minimize its focus at the space agency.

In Trump's first term, Earth science faced repeated budget threats and potential cancellation of missions like Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 (OCO-3) and CLARREO Pathfinder. Now, the FY 2026 proposal seeks to cut NASA's science funding by 47%, slashing Earth science by more than half.

Such cuts put long-term data records — like sea level measurements, carbon cycles and atmospheric dynamics — at risk. Proponents of the shift away from climate research argue this type of monitoring could be taken on by agencies like NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), freeing more resources at NASA to focus more on space exploration. ...

Ultimately, the survival of these missions will hinge on Congress, which has the final say in NASA's funding allocations. Appropriation decisions are expected by October — the start of the new fiscal year — though lawmakers in both chambers have already signaled resistanceto the steepest science cuts presented in the president's budget proposal.

Inside NASA, employees and contractors are also voicing concern. Some workers tied to missions flagged in the budget for cancellation have already received "at risk" notices warning their jobs may not be extended beyond Sep. 30, causing unease as political higher-ups duke it out over NASA's future.

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More:

A Half Century of NASA's Mission Statement -- STARTING with Planet Earth Science, to Protect our Home Planet

Read here about the history:

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/HelloEarth
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security

• https://greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Thin_Blue_Layer
• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Vital_Signs

Our 'living, breathing planet'... The Commons

Your Home Planet (Video)

Systems of Life, It's All Connected, It's All Related

• https://greenpolicy360.net/w/It%27s_All_Related

Earth System Science

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_System_Science

Earth Information Center

• https://earth.gov/

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