NASA plans to ditch its pursuit of climate sciences to focus on exploring the moon and Mars.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, who is also transportation secretary, said last week that the agency’s purpose is the exploration of space and not Earth’s climate, Space.com reported Wednesday.
“All of the climate science and all of the other priorities that the last administration had at NASA, we’re going to move aside,” said Duffy, according to Space.com, which cited an Aug. 14 interview he gave with Fox Business. “All of the science that we do is going to be directed toward exploration, which is the mission of NASA. That’s why we have NASA, is to explore, not to do all of these earth sciences.”
The shift reflects President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 draft budget proposal for NASA that includes a 23% overall cut, from $24.4 billion to $18.8 billion. Much of that is being taken from the Science Mission Directorate, which will face a more than 46% cut from $7.3 billion to $3.9 billion. The division includes all planetary science, Earth science, astrophysics, heliophysics, and biological and physical science research.
Duffy criticized NASA’s “smorgasbord of priorities” and said future science will be focused on missions to the moon, Mars, and low Earth orbit after the decommission of the International Space Station sometime after 2030.
He noted how such exploration has inspired the U.S., such as the Apollo missions to the moon, and drew a parallel to current programs like Artemis that aim to return astronauts to the moon.
At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday, Duffy said that although other agencies have an opportunity to take the lead on climate science, NASA is the only agency capable of supporting human spaceflight, according to Space.com.
“That doesn’t mean that Congress hasn’t told us to do a few other things,” he said, confirming that NASA will still adhere to upcoming budget directives. “We’re going to do those, but we are the only agency that’s going to explore [space].”
In an email to Space.com, a NASA spokesperson said Duffy’s remarks reflect a broad vision — not a directive — and that no missions have been cut or canceled yet, citing pending congressional appropriations.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
