At risk is research that would develop next-generation climate models, track the planet's changing oceans, and explore the Solar System. NASA's science budget for the fiscal year 2026 would be cut nearly in half, to US$3.9 billion. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors Earth's climate and makes weather forecasts, would have its 2026 budget cut by 27%, to $4.5 billion. The leaked documents containing this information were sent by the White House to federal agencies last week; they were reported by other media outlets and obtained by Nature. Although the proposed cuts aren't final, they have alarmed scientists and science advocates alike. 'We're talking about a wholesale dismantling of NASA's scientific fleet and the pipeline of future missions,' says Casey Dreier, chief of space policy for the Planetary Society, an advocacy group in Pasadena, California. 'Trump's budget plan for NOAA is both outrageous and dangerous,' says a statement released...
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