Keith’s note: this was sent out to the OPAG Listserv this afternoon: Dear OPAG Community,
Welcome to the new email listserv! We appreciate your patience during this transitional period as OPAG has shifted to a fully independent community organization. Your dedicated steering committee has been working behind the scenes to chart the course for this next phase, and we’re excited for what lies ahead. To that end, we wanted to share a few important announcements in this inaugural email.
- Save the Date: Our next OPAG community meeting is a virtual meeting and will be held September 22-24, 2026.
Meeting details and agenda will be forthcoming. - Call to Action: 7/13/2026 Deadline Rapidly Approaching
The Short Version: As you are likely aware, the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) has proposed sweeping rules changes impacting how the administration implements and awards federal grants (including NASA and the National Science Foundation, among others). OMB’s proposed changes would transfer grant selections from a peer-review process to a political-review process, which is a deliberate move to place complete authority over federally funded science in the hands of an unaccountable group of partisan bureaucrats. While the President’s Budget Request proposes to cut NASA science and mission funding – this move from OMB seeks to define what scientists can and can’t pursue with Congressionally allocated funding. It is detrimental to American science and intentionally undermines scientific integrity. It also means that OMB will deliberately work around Congress to control the American scientific enterprise.
The Action: There is a critical window to influence this process that closes this Monday, July 13, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. This is a period to gather public comments (a process required by law for such a rule change). It is critical that we speak out clearly, though not emotionally, concerning the impacts of such a rule change. Highlighting how such a change would conflict with existing policies and/or how it would be injurious to previously stated agendas and goals for NASA are key (e.g., proposed changes by OMB would undermine the Artemis program, stifle technological innovation, and surrender deep space leadership to other nations). Such feedback would provide both evidence and substance for legal injunctions to stop the implementation of the proposed rules changes. This is not a time for a copy-paste form-letter submission, but rather should be composed of independent and individual submissions. Carefully articulated responses that are detailed, specific and constructive are best.
Resources: We include the following helpful links – the first is to the OMB proposed rules changes to which comments may be submitted directly:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance
Next is The Planetary Society’s advocacy center which will autofill your information and send it for you once you have written your detailed, personal response in the box provided: https://www.planetary.org/advocacy-action-center?vvsrc=%5CCampaigns%5C137770%5CRespond
Finally, here is a press release from The Planetary Society calling for reversal of the proposed changes. The bottom of this form contains a list of resources including a helpful comparison tool to clarify the proposed rules changes: https://www.planetary.org/press-releases/the-planetary-society-calls-for-rollback-of-proposed-regulations-that-would-stifle-american-science-and-exploration
We appreciate and are incredibly grateful to all of you for your patience and continued engagement with our community through this transitional time. We will provide updates as soon as meeting plans are finalized and our new website is online; until then, the LPI website will be maintained. OPAG has served as a resource for our community for over 20 years – we look forward to engaging with all of you at our next virtual meeting, and deeply thank you for your continued support!
Per aspera ad astra,
Carol Paty & Morgan Cable
OPAG Co-Chairs
