Congress approves $24.4 billion NASA budget, rejecting Trump's proposed cuts

A bipartisan minibus spending bill that allocates $24.4 billion to NASA for fiscal 2026 passed both chambers of Congress and was sent to President Trump; the measure restores most science funding and preserves many missions while Mars Sample Return remains canceled.

Congress passed a minibus spending bill that allocates $24.4 billion to NASA for fiscal year 2026 and sent the measure to President Donald Trump. The House approved the legislation last week and the Senate passed it on Jan. 15. The bill rejects deep cuts proposed in the president's 2026 budget and restores much of the agency's science funding. The minibus packages three appropriations bills that include funding for NASA and related agencies. Key details: - The minibus sets NASA's FY2026 funding at $24.4 billion and now awaits the president's signature. - The House passed the bill 397-28 and the Senate passed it 82-15. - The White House had proposed $18.8 billion for NASA for FY2026, including $3.9 billion for the Science Mission Directorate. - The minibus allocates $7.25 billion to the Science Mission Directorate, about 1% below enacted 2025 levels. - The funding preserves dozens of missions that would have faced termination under the White House proposal, including the Da Vinci and VERITAS Venus probes, New Horizons, Juno, and OSIRIS-APEX; Mars Sample Return is not funded under this measure. - Separately, the earlier "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" provides $10 billion to NASA over six years, mostly for human spaceflight, bringing the agency's total FY2026 resources to slightly more than $27.53 billion according to The Planetary Society. Summary: The legislation largely restores science funding that had been cut in the administration's proposal and preserves many ongoing and planned missions, while Mars Sample Return remains canceled. The bill has been sent to the president and is reported as likely to be signed; if enacted, combined appropriations will give NASA a total above $27.5 billion for FY2026.