Protests outside the Air and Space Museum: “NASA is under attack”
On July 20, on the anniversary of humanity’s first moon landing, a group of nearly a hundred employees, contractors, family members, and supporters of NASA gathered in front of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. But this time it was not to celebrate, but to raise their voices against what they see as a direct attack on science and U.S. space leadership.
The protesters, many of whom are connected to the space agency, expressed their rejection of the budget cuts and massive layoffs that are already underway, even though the budget has not yet been approved by Congress.
“We are here because NASA is under attack, and we are its defense,” declared Marshall Finch, one of the protest organizers and a contractor for the agency.
### Early Budget Cuts and a Call to “Abandon Ship”
What has raised alarms is not only the content of President Donald Trump’s proposed 2026 budget, which cuts NASA’s scientific portfolio in half and cancels certain projects, but also the fact that the agency’s current leadership has already begun to implement drastic measures without waiting for legislative approval.
Employees have been notified of staff reductions and are being encouraged to participate in the “Deferred Resignation Program,” an initiative that allows them to leave the agency under certain conditions. However, many see this as an attempt to quickly demobilize part of the technical and scientific staff.
“They are telling everyone to sign up for the resignation program now. To jump off the ship,” denounced Finch. “This will weaken NASA and weaken the United States.”
### Congress Reacts: Criticism of the Interim Administration
Days before the protest, two Democratic congresswomen from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Zoe Lofgren (California) and Valerie Foushee (North Carolina), sent a harsh letter to NASA’s acting administrator, Sean Duffy, accusing him of acting outside the law by implementing cuts before the final budget was approved.
The letter expresses the concern of several lawmakers about what they see as a “preventive overreaction” by the agency’s top leadership, which they claim is making layoffs and cancellations without legal backing.
The outrage is not new. Former NASA chief scientists and space policy experts had already warned that the proposed cuts represent the “largest budget reduction in the agency’s history.” Additionally, there are concerns that these decisions could compromise the U.S.’s ability to monitor threats like dangerous asteroids or develop new space technologies.
### The Magnitude of the Impact: Over 40 Missions in Jeopardy
If approved as proposed, Trump’s budget will result in the cancellation or suspension of over 40 ongoing or developing scientific missions, including key projects in Earth observation, astronomy, climatology, and planetary exploration.
This includes initiatives to study climate change, detect near-Earth asteroids, explore exoplanets, and continue solar surveillance. Many scientists believe that losing these missions would set back space and scientific knowledge advancement by decades.
The spontaneous organization “NASA Employees for the Future,” made up of employees and supporters, states that the mobilization has only just begun. Many fear that if Congress does not halt these measures, NASA will lose a generation of scientists and technicians who may never return to the agency.
