The House Appropriations Committee has postponed its full markup of the Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) funding bill but has released a detailed report outlining how it plans to allocate the recommended $24.8 billion for NASA—matching current funding levels and rejecting the Trump Administration’s proposed $6 billion cut.
Mars Sample Return is a proposed mission to return samples from the surface of Mars to Earth. The mission would use robotic systems and a Mars ascent rocket to collect and send samples of Martian rocks, soils and atmosphere to Earth for detailed chemical and physical analysis. The mission is being planned jointly with the European Space Agency.
The Trump Administration had called for slashing NASA’s budget by nearly 25%, down to $18.8 billion, including a 47% reduction to the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and terminating the ambitious Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. In contrast, the House and Senate subcommittees are holding the line, with the House allocating $24.8 billion and the Senate proposing $24.9 billion.
A key flashpoint is the future of the MSR mission—a collaborative effort with the European Space Agency to retrieve samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover from Mars. While the Administration wants to cancel the program in favor of cheaper, science missions aligned with future human exploration, the House subcommittee is not backing down. It earmarked $300 million to keep the mission alive, citing its strategic value and China’s competing plans to launch a similar mission in 2028.
The subcommittee also urges NASA to integrate commercial partners to reduce costs and accelerate timelines, and it mandates a report within 30 days of the bill’s enactment outlining partnership potential.
While supportive of NASA’s science initiatives, the House proposes cutting the SMD budget to $6 billion—down from $7.3 billion—but still far above the Administration’s $3.9 billion proposal. Highlighted missions include the ESA-led Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), the OSIRIS-APEX asteroid study, and Earth System Observatory projects. Unlike the Senate, the House report does not mention support for NASA’s role in ESA’s Rosalind Franklin Mars rover.
Exploration funding sees a significant boost. The House subcommittee recommends $9.7 billion—well above both the FY2025 allocation of $7.7 billion and the Administration’s FY2026 request of $8.3 billion. The increase reinforces continued support for the Space Launch System (SLS), Orion spacecraft, and the Gateway lunar space station—all central to NASA’s Artemis program.
The Trump Administration had proposed ending SLS and Orion after Artemis III in 2027, in favor of commercial systems. Congress disagrees. Lawmakers see SLS, which flew its first uncrewed Artemis I test in 2022, as indispensable for near-term lunar missions. The House also directs NASA to explore cost-saving changes to the SLS’s Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), including commercial and international collaborations, but still requires the rocket to meet its 130-metric-ton lift goal.
Mars as the Next Human Destination
The report affirms bipartisan Congressional support for crewed Mars missions. Both House and Senate committees direct NASA to prioritize commercial development of entry, descent, and landing systems for large payloads on Mars, with the goal of a demonstration mission during the next Earth-Mars transfer window in late 2026. The Administration had earmarked $1 billion for Mars within the exploration account, but specifics on Congressional appropriations remain unclear.
Congress also backs propulsion innovation with $175 million for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) and $80 million for Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP).
Emergency Crew Return Capability and Dream Chaser
In an unexpected provision, the House sets aside $5 million to convert a U.S. commercial cargo vehicle for runway crew return within the continental U.S. Though SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon is currently the only reentry-capable commercial cargo vehicle, it lands in the ocean. Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser, which resembles a mini space shuttle and can land on runways, is under development and could fulfill this role. Despite delays, Dream Chaser is slated for cargo service under NASA’s CRS2 contract.
Despite Congressional support, concerns are mounting over whether the Administration will release funds as intended. At a National Academies meeting this week, congressional staff from both parties expressed frustration with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is reportedly releasing NASA funds in 30-day increments and failing to provide spending plans for FY2025.
Pamela Whitney, a Democratic staffer for the House Science Committee, warned that such stopgap funding hampers long-term planning, while Brent Blevins, a Republican staffer, pointed to potential illegal “impoundments” of appropriated funds—recently flagged again by the Government Accountability Office.
Senate Republican staffer Maddy Davis echoed concerns about transparency over the $10 billion allocated in a reconciliation bill, stating that they still haven’t received a spend plan and fear misallocation.
Congress’s sluggish pace on appropriations has left the FY2026 outlook uncertain. Only two of twelve appropriations bills have passed in the House, and none in the Senate, though the upper chamber remains in session longer. With lawmakers set to return September 2—just weeks before the fiscal year begins on October 1—a Continuing Resolution (CR) appears inevitable.
Under normal circumstances, a CR might maintain NASA’s current funding and avoid disruption. But with growing fears over fund impoundments and executive overreach, even a stopgap measure poses serious risks to the agency’s stability and strategic goals.
For now, NASA’s future remains tethered not just to rockets and rovers, but to a funding tug-of-war playing out on Capitol Hill.
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