NASA SMD Is Merging All FACA Advisory Committees Into One

Keith’s note: According to “Update to NASA Science Advisory Committees”: “On February 19, 2025, the President issued Executive Order 14217, Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, which sets forth the Administration’s policy of reducing the size of the Federal government in order to minimize waste and abuse, reduce inflation and promote American freedom and innovation. This Executive Order directed the termination of several Federal advisory committees across the government and ordered the identification of additional unnecessary Federal advisory committees for termination.

NASA maintains an advisory committee for each of the five science divisions within the Science Mission Directorate: Astrophysics, Biological and Physical Sciences, Earth Science, Heliophysics, and Planetary Science. These committees, which are discretionary and not required by statute, have supported NASA’s achievement of its science goals.

In response to Executive Order 14217, NASA’s acting administrator, Janet Petro, has directed NASA to merge these five committees into a single advisory committee with broad representation from across the NASA science community. This restructuring will provide the opportunity to retain one non-statutory science committee and ensure continued support of NASA science goals — improving efficiency, while ensuring NASA maintains the important process of engaging with the science community.

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate is in the process of determining the best structure, scale, and scope for the merged committee. The directorate is committed to ensuring representation from all areas of expertise relevant to the Science Mission Directorate’s objectives.

The Science Mission Directorate is committed to continuing to engage with the science community in a variety of ways — both formal and informal.

For more information contact:
Michael New
Deputy Associate Administrator for Research
Science Mission Directorate
[email protected]v”