Janet Petro Embraces The FY 2026 Budget Challenge
Keith’s note: Janet Petro just sent out “Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request” – “On Friday, the Trump-Vance Administration released topline details of its fiscal year 2026 budget request, which outlines a focused approach for advancing America’s leadership in space. While this is just the starting point, it’s clear NASA’s role in shaping the future of space exploration remains central to the American story.
The budget calls for an increased focus on our human space exploration mission and ensures our investments support bold ambitions including preparing for the first human missions to Mars. By aligning our resources with these objectives, we can build on NASA’s legacy of achievement and leadership in space.
Almost 70 years ago, this agency was founded to meet an audacious goal: to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth. It was the height of the space race, and America wasn’t just aiming to be first – we were determined to be the best. Today, we carry forward that spirit as we embark on a new chapter of discovery, challenge, and leadership.
We are not alone in our ambitions. Around the world, other nations are racing to expand their presence beyond low Earth orbit. Once again, the stakes are high – and once again, NASA is called to lead. The fiscal year 2026 budget reflects the administration’s support for our mission and sets the stage for our next great achievements. Like the pioneers before us, we must persevere, stay resilient, and lean into the discipline it takes to do things that have never been done before – especially in a constrained environment. This budget will require tough choices and a sharper focus, and we’ll need to align our efforts accordingly while staying true to our bold ambitions.
This budget will bring real change – not just to programs, but to people. Some activities will wind down, and we owe it to the American taxpayer to face these choices with clarity and courage as we continue our mission. Extending the status quo is not an option. We are going to lead in this next era – what many are calling a new space age – and to do that, we must continue to find ways to deliver smarter, faster, and with greater discipline. That means holding ourselves and each other to the highest standards – because we can’t afford overruns, missed milestones, and lost momentum. What we can afford is ambition, focus, and the will to adapt.
Here’s a brief overview of the high-level priorities in the President’s budget:
- A strengthened commitment to human space exploration, with more than $7 billion supporting our continued leadership in returning to the Moon and more than $1 billion in new investments to accelerate human missions to Mars.
- A sharpened focus on high-priority science and technology, ending the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program and positioning NASA to lead future sample return efforts through human missions.
- A transition to a more sustainable, cost-effective approach to lunar exploration by retiring the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and supporting ground systems after Artemis III, and ending the Gateway Program – opening the door to next-generation commercial systems and expanded international collaboration.
- Continue the process of safely decommissioning the International Space Station in 2030 and transitioning to commercial replacements, taking a more cost-effective approach that includes reducing the space station’s crew size and focusing onboard research on efforts critical to future exploration of the Moon and Mars, while preparing for the space station’s safe decommissioning.
- A commitment to minimize the duplication of efforts and more efficiently steward the allocation of American taxpayer dollars, to ensure a financially sustainable path forward.
- Strategic investments in NASA’s core mission, including ending green aviation spending, while advancing technologies for air traffic control and other U.S. government and commercial applications, and inspiring the next generation of explorers through exciting missions.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Teddy Roosevelt’s famous address at the Sorbonne, where he reminds us that the credit belongs to those who dare greatly, not to those who stand on the sidelines. With this budget as our foundation, we are once again called to stand in the arena – to take on hard things, to risk setbacks, and to achieve something extraordinary for our nation and for the world.
The science, technology, and knowledge we gain from exploring the Moon and Mars will not only expand humanity’s reach but also fuel innovations that improve life here on Earth. This is far from the first time NASA has been asked to adapt – and your ability to deliver, even under pressure, is what sets NASA apart. It’s an honor to stand with you as we embrace this moment and secure America’s leadership in space.
Embrace the Challenge,
Janet”
4 responses to “Janet Petro Embraces The FY 2026 Budget Challenge”
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Throwing away your ISS is self-sidelining, hardly daring.
Daring is the Sourced Upgrade, Replace, and Correction Empowered Array Sequential Extension plan.
Should I even bother to point out that it’s not accurate to say that NASA was founded to land humans on the Moon? NASA’s initial mandate focused on broad aeronautics and space research, not the lunar landing, which came later.
Second, the Roosevelt quote she references is closely related to the JPL “Dare Mighty Things” motto. Roosevelt’s Sorbonne speech was a decade after he penned the original version of that thought, from which JPL drew its informal slogan. It’s basically the same idea. Point being, it’s particularly galling that this choice of favorite quotation connects so directly to JPL, which stands to suffer greatly if MSR were indeed canceled.
Congratulations to Acting Administrator Petro and the Trump Administration. This budget proposal pretty much guarantees China will land humans on the moon before American Astronauts return. The budget proposal also further reduces NASA’s relevance in the day-to-day lives of American citizens (both native born and green card holders) who could have potentially been NASA’s next generation of engineers, scientists and explorers. With this current NASA Administrator and administration, the future is dead. Through words and deeds, they’ve been clear: science doesn’t matter; STEM is woke, a diverse workforce, equity and inclusion does not matter and is, in fact, now illegal. NASA today is being lead by a puppet, a “yes” person who will easily be shown the door when the time comes. In the NASA I knew and worked for, an Acting Administrator would have fought for NASA and “embraced the challenge” of resisting the President’s uninformed, misguided budgetary proposals until the end … that is, until fired. I would like to think an Administrator (acting or not) would prioritize the work and accomplishments of the hard working team of NASA civil servants and contractors, as well as the agency’s benefits to America’s citizens, over the uninformed, misguided, undereducated budgetary proposals of an egomaniacal term-limited politician. As a reminder; what’s NASA’s motto? “For the Benefit of All.” Just. Sayin’
This is the end of the Agency. Congratulations Administrator Petro.
Where prior administrators ensured the agency was seen as an aspirational achievement for all Americans in the cosmos (if not all of humankind), you have replaced it with blatant partisan hackery your predecessors were wise enough to avoid.
It was widely reported you thought it was a joke you had been tapped for administrator. This email just confirms it was. You are how low they had to go down the proverbial totem pole to find someone who would decapitate a proud and decorated agency.
So congratulations, Janet: you’ve become the punch line.