By Micah Maidenberg

Senate Republicans are working on a plan that would shield some NASA programs from large cuts proposed by the White House.

Officials have discussed directing $10 billion toward programs facing funding reductions, lawmakers said Thursday, confirming an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal. The reductions were proposed in the White House's recent budget request, which would reduce the agency's annual funding by about 25%.

One program is designed to build a rocket, called the Space Launch System, that would start missions for NASA's flagship Artemis exploration effort. That program seeks to return American astronauts to the lunar surface as soon as 2027.

The funding would also support the International Space Station, the more than two decade-old facility where U.S. astronauts conduct scientific research.

NASA is rudderless at the moment, caught between President Trump and Elon Musk's fraying relationship -- and competing priorities between the White House and some Republican lawmakers about the agency's direction.

It isn't clear who will lead NASA after Trump abruptly withdrew support for his previous nominee, Jared Isaacman, the entrepreneur who twice flew to orbit with Musk's SpaceX. Trump has said he plans to name a new nominee soon.

Janet Petro, NASA's acting administrator since January, in an internal message sent Monday encouraged staff to stay focused on the agency's mission, according to a copy viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Many NASA employees were stunned by Isaacman's dismissal. Others are apprehensive about a White House budget proposal that would allocate about $19 billion for NASA for the government's next fiscal year, down from nearly $25 billion currently.

If passed by Congress, the budget would prompt layoffs at the agency and reduce funding for the space station. It looks to impose big cuts to science programs and unwind the current setup of Artemis.

Artemis is underpinned by a slate of rockets and spacecraft that contractors are building for NASA. Those include the Boeing-developed Space Launch System rocket, and Orion, a crew ship built by Lockheed Martin.

In a budget document released in May, the White House called for phasing out the "grossly expensive and delayed Space Launch System $(SLS)$ rocket and Orion capsule after three flights" and moving to use commercially available vehicles.

NASA conducted the first Artemis flight, an uncrewed test mission, using SLS and Orion in 2022, and wants to mount a mission with astronauts early next year.

Congressional lawmakers have said the SLS rocket is essential for returning NASA astronauts to the lunar surface before China does so. Others have worried about upending work that has been under way for years at NASA.

SpaceX's Starship is part of NASA's Artemis program, but the company has been largely emphasizing its own plan to try to mount missions to Mars.

Musk has for decades wanted to send humans to the red planet, and brought that dream to the president. He had told Trump that sending people to Mars would distinguish the president's legacy, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Trump mentioned the idea of a crewed mission to Mars in his inaugural address, and his budget proposal for the next government fiscal year proposes new funding to try to make that a reality.

On Thursday, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the government could save money by terminating contracts with Musk's businesses. SpaceX is a major contractor at NASA, and frequently launches payloads for the Pentagon.

"Go ahead, make my day," Musk said about Trump's post. SpaceX is currently the only U.S. company regularly transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

An advocacy organization called Giant Leap for America on Thursday debuted television commercials for the Washington metropolitan area portraying the U.S. in a race to return astronauts to the moon before China. The ads encouraged viewers to urge senators to fund the Artemis program.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 05, 2025 19:20 ET (23:20 GMT)

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