Keith’s note: According to NASA SMD there will be a Town Hall for Planetary Science Research Programs on Oct 15. (official email below) “In advance of and during the webinar questions may be submitted and upvoted on at:
https://nasa.cnf.io/sessions/qfp6/#!/dashboard “ So … all of you out there concerned about planetary and space science missions – vote, add your comments etc. If you are afraid of things being traced back to you – use a private phone or home computer. You pay for this space program. Time to provide some feedback. Ad Astra y’all.

Source: PSI Planetary Exploration Newsletter: “As many of you will have seen, earlier this week NASA made the shocking decision to cancel the VIPER project following completion of the rover’s build. It now faces the prospect of being dismembered. We have organized an open letter to Congress from the wider science community asking them to refuse any request to cancel this mission, by ensuring that it continues to be included as a budgetary line-item. You can find this letter here: https://forms.gle/XDSzTra4NPSS1VC27 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the letter’s organizers, Dr Benjamin Fernando ([email protected]) or Dr Parvathy Prem ([email protected]) who have organized this letter in a personal capacity.”

Keith’s note: The draft FY 2025 spending bill is working its way through the House. NASA Science gets the same amount as it was supposed to get in FY 2024 which equates to a ~$230M cut. NASA education programs get $89 million – the same as it was supposed to get in FY 2024 i.e no big increase as The White House had requested. Looks like the Artemis Program will do OK – even if the education for the Artemis Generation will not.

Keith’s note: The following was sent out the other day after news of firings at NASA Public Affairs started to appear on social media (see screen grab from one fired employee below): “As many of you are aware, the spending caps enacted by Congress for fiscal year 2024 and 2025 are requiring many organizations like ours to make hard choices. We are not unique, and, unfortunately, we have had to make difficult decisions that affect some of our team. After thorough analysis and review of all available options, we are reducing some requirements at Goddard, Marshall and HQ on the eMITS and SRACES contracts. These decisions were not made lightly and do not reflect on the outstanding and tireless work of the communications team. While they will no doubt have impact, our core mission remains unchanged– we will continue to tell the incredible NASA story and inspire all to reach for the stars. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, Michelle Jones or Wes Brown with any questions or concerns you may have. Together, we will navigate these challenges. Marc Etkind Associate Administrator for Communications”

Keith’s note: Sources report that the internal NASA Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process has included discussion of a possible RIF in FY 2025. The budget is that bad folks. Stay tuned. Maybe Senator Administrator Bill Nelson can enlighten everyone as to how bad the NASA budget situation really is. NASA is not going to be doing a robust Artemis program or MSR or many of other big new things it wants to do in a budget environment with RIFs. RIFs can be brutal, pit one employee against another, decimate morale, and prompt people to find a more secure job.

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate will hold a Budget Town Hall meeting with Associate Administrator for Science Nicky Fox and her leadership team on Wednesday from 1:00 – 2:00 pm EDT. Participants are invited to submit their questions below and/or vote up questions already posted.

Keith’s note: True to form, overt politico Senator Administrator Bill Nelson D-FL said “As history has proven, as the present has shown, and as the future will continue to demonstrate, an investment in NASA is an investment in America for the benefit of humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “President Biden’s budget will fund our nation’s abilities and leadership for the future of space exploration, scientific discovery, cutting-edge technology, climate data, the next generation of aeronautics, and inspiring our future leaders – the Artemis Generation.” This is, of course, nonsense since NASA’s budget overruns/delays on Artemis, Mars Sample Return etc. have already begin to eat up other projects. An insufficient FY 25 budget simply makes things worse. Remember just a few years ago the NASA mantra was “Journey to Mars” in the 2030s. Well, the new variant – NASA “Moon to Mars” thing now only shows the Moon – no Mars – in the 2030s. Negative progress – indeed its space exploration Shrinkflation. Clicking your heels together, crossing your fingers, and whistling “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” ain’t gonna solve anything, Bill. NASA’s plans are royally screwed. And the Artemis Generation will not witness all the happy talk you continue to throw their way. I guess that Moon rock is not in the Oval Office anymore.

• According to Marcia Smith @SpcPlcyOnline {see chart above} From NASA budget summary, latest Artemis schedule. SpaceX Starship HLS test in 2026, same year as Artemis III landing. Artemis V, first use of Blue Origin’s HLS, now in 2030.
• According to @Lori_Garver The @POTUS ’25 @NASA budget of $25.38B is ~$2.5B less than projected last year. Along w/ congressional cut of $2.3B for 2024, the agency’s growth trend is now reversed. Absorbing these reductions w/out cancelling major programs will cause delays across the board. Tough choices.
• The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration put out a statement that only expresses concern about human spaceflight – not all the other things NASA does.
• In a 7 March Statement the Planetary Society only focuses on space science – and not human spaceflight
• Here are the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request documents posted by NASA. Read them and weep.

Keith’s note: I tossed out some tweets out today on @NASAWatch about the layoff and budget situation. The President’s FY 2025 budget will drop on 11 March. It is not going to have much – if any – good news. Mostly bad news that will pit one part of NASA against another. Lots of things will be cut – to the point that some rather draconian decisions will need to be made. Whatever happens please don’t give up on your space dreams.

• When the FY25 budget request from the White House drops we’ll all be seeing that exploration i.e. #Artemis has a much higher priority than does science at #NASA Its not just math but also what @NASA 9th floor sees as priorities and what issues they have to face on Capitol Hill.
• NASA budget math: Look at #Mars Sample Return & what they got ~$600m has to come from somewhere assuming no more bad news. But there will be bad news when WH FY25 budget request drops. MSR $ will have to come from somewhere like Dragonfly/Earth Science or no MSR. Its math folks.
• While the folks at @NASAJPL got hit first with layoffs first they will soon be coming to @NASAGoddard and since civil servants will likely be involved it’ll be time for a #RIF. Again this is budget math folks. If the money ain’t there then @NASA can’t spend it.
• Meanwhile we have #ISS ops to pay until 2030 then $1-2 billion to dump it into the ocean. Meanwhile fund @Axiom_Space &/or @OrbitalReef &/or @Starlab_Space LEO space stations while also building #Gateway lunar space station and & human missions to the Moon at $2-4 billion a pop.
• Strange thing is – @NASA loves to talk about all that science goodness that humans will do on the Moon and Mars yet they are going to cut a lot of that off at the knees. What will the #Artemis crews do when they get there? Flags & footprints?

Keith’s 24 January note: I am hearing that the impact on NASA of the Continuing Resolution ~$500 million shortfall is likely going to have some significant impacts on employees at JPL and Goddard – and elsewhere. Some things will be unaffected, others will be delayed. If implemented this will happen rather soon. Stay tuned.

• 6 Feb Update: JPL Workforce Update After exhausting all other measures to adjust to a lower budget from NASA, and in the absence of an FY24 appropriation from Congress, we have had to make the difficult decision to reduce the JPL workforce through layoffs. JPL staff has been advised that the workforce reduction will affect approximately 530 of our colleagues, an impact of about 8%, plus approximately 40 additional members of our contractor workforce. The impacts will occur across both technical and support areas of the Lab. These are painful but necessary adjustments that will enable us to adhere to our budget allocation while continuing our important work for NASA and our nation.
• NASA PAO from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson: “Earlier today, JPL announced a reduction in its workforce. These painful decisions are hard, and we will feel this loss across the NASA family. A recent Independent Review Board examined the Mars Sample Return mission and NASA is currently assessing the path forward based on their input. In addition to this need for a pause, this decision is necessary because the FY 2024 appropriation, which already started on Oct. 1, 2023, has not been passed by Congress and the lowest level of funding approved has been reported by the Senate appropriations committee. To spend more than that amount, with no final legislation in place, would be unwise and spending money NASA does not have. JPL has long been – and will continue to be – a shining example of America’s leadership in space. Even in the wake of current challenges, JPL will continue to help drive key upcoming NASA missions as we explore the cosmos with Europa Clipper, study our changing climate with the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), and defend the planet with the Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope (NEO Surveyor).”

Keith’s note: According to this little gem that was tossed online after hours on a Friday “NASA Adjusts Agreements to Benefit Commercial Station Development“ “We continue to see an immense amount of dedication from our partners,” said Angela Hart, manager of Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.“The agency is committed to continuing to work with industry with the goal having one or more stations in orbit to ensure competition, lower costs, and meet the demand of NASA and other customers.” Uh huh. Since when has NASA lowered the cost – of anything? This whole ISS vs Gateway/Artemis vs Orbital Reef vs Starlab vs Axiom vs Russia vs China vs Congress with regard to space stations is all going to result in an inelastic collision – soon. To some extent this announcement is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The money is simply not there for everything, competing priorities are inherently non-synergistic, and in place of a coherent, national strategy – one that takes these things into account in a realistic way – we have a short-term, seat of the pants, ad hoc, fake it until you make it, free for all. Something has got to give since neither the money or a clear policy path are on the horizon. And the warning signs – if they are even apparent – will be ignored until it is too late. And expecting the National Space Council to do anything substantive is simply naive in the extreme. Oh then there’s the whole 2024 election thing and the fact that NASA has no idea when the moon walking resumes and … Just sayin’