Importance Score: 72 / 100 🔴
CAPITOL HILL — NASA has pushed back the upcoming contest for an astrophysics endeavor by one year, highlighting the monetary constraints posed by an impending budget plan on the agency’s scientific endeavors.
In a statement released on April 29, NASA apprised the astrophysics sector that it was postponed until April 2026 the issuance of the subsequent announcement of opportunity (AO) for the next Small Explorer (SMEX) mission. The AO was anticipated to be issued this April following NASA’s publication of a draft in January.
The Reason Behind the Delay
The statement did not elaborate on the cause of the AO delay. However, numerous astrophysics professionals attribute it to the forthcoming disclosure of NASA’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, which allegedly aims to reduce funding by approximately two-thirds from the $1.5 billion allocated for astrophysics in 2024. This information stems from leaked specifics from a budget “passback” document conveyed to NASA by the Office of Management and Budget in April.
NASA’s Response to Budgetary Uncertainty
In an April 3 address to the National Academies’ Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics, Shawn Domagal-Goldman, the acting head of NASA’s astrophysics division, mentioned that NASA was still endeavoring to release the AO by the month’s end. Nevertheless, he noted that this was contingent on the agency’s financial forecasts.
“The foremost inquiry I’ve been receiving lately is, ‘When will the SMEX invitation be published?’” he remarked. “The SMEX announcement will hinge on the budgets we secure for 2026 and beyond.”
He mentioned at the time that NASA had not yet obtained the passback. “Our strategy is to await confirmation of the budgetary environment under this administration before proceeding with the release.”
Overview of the SMEX Program
The SMEX program is designed for comparatively modest missions, with a cost limit in the draft AO for all mission phases excluding launch set at $170 million. The most recent astrophysics SMEX mission, the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI), was chosen in 2021 for a launch now scheduled for 2027.
NASA anticipated in the draft AO to provide nine-month study contracts to two or three finalists in March 2026. The agency then projected selecting the winning proposal in the second quarter of 2027 for a launch by no later than May 2031.
Impact of Budget Cuts on NASA’s Goals
The choice to delay the AO occurs amidst ongoing apprehension about the effects of proposed cuts to NASA’s overall science budget, which amounts to nearly 50% as indicated in the passback document. On April 30, a coalition of industry and advocacy groups dispatched joint letters to congressional appropriations and authorization committees. The group expressed “deepe concern” about the impact these cuts would have on the agency, the scientific community, and the broader industry.
“Such a severe reduction would inflict immediate and irreversible damage to the nation’s space science initiatives,” the letters stated, potentially ending numerous ongoing missions and halting work on “nearly all” future missions. “A 47% reduction to NASA Science would signify a relinquishment of American leadership in a domain it has long pioneered.”
Public Disclosure of Budget Proposal
Information regarding the NASA budget proposal might be disclosed shortly. Speaking at a meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group on April 30, Louise Prockter, director of NASA’s planetary science division, noted that the agency anticipated the release of a top-level “skinny” budget proposal as early as May 2. This will supply an overall budget figure for NASA but few details. The comprehensive budget proposal, she added, is expected around Memorial Day.