In June, the White House released a budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 that slashed funding for NASA's science programs by nearly 50 percent. Then, in July, the Trump administration began telling the leaders of dozens of space science missions to prepare "closeout" plans for their spacecraft.

Things looked pretty grim for a while, but then Congress stepped in. Congress, of course, sets the federal government's budget. In many ways, Congress abdicated authority to the Trump administration last year. But not so, it turns out, with federal spending.

Throughout the summer and fall, as the White House and Congress wrangled over various issues, lawmakers made it clear they intended to fund most of NASA's science portfolio. Preliminary efforts to shut down active missions were put on hold.

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Source: Ars Technica