Welcome all! This week’s episode is one that I consider very important. Since the Trump administration was inaugurated, people at NASA were understandably afraid. Uncertainty about the future can do that to people, especially when an unelected, unconfirmed member of government (Elon Musk) begins making seemingly arbitrary cuts to departments, jobs, and spending. Those fears were confirmed with the release of the White House’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (FY 2006).
In addition to deep cuts, the Budget also calls for the cancellation of programs that NASA has been pursuing for years as part of its “Moon to Mars” mission architecture. These include the Space Launch System (SLS), the Orion Spacecraft, and the Lunar Gateway, which are integral to the Artemis Program and plans to send the first crewed missions to Mars. The Budget also pushes privatization as the solution to every proposed cut, and very deliberately and specifically targets funding for “woke” programs that seek to increase representation in the STEM fields.
To call this Budget a disaster in the making only undersells it. If enacted, it could throw NASA’s entire future into jeopardy. Whereas the Budget specifies that NASA’s only priority should be beating China to the Moon and Mars, it will likely make that goal much harder to achieve. And it would almost surely compromise the agency’s longstanding reputation for leadership in space.
The release of this episode is also a milestone for me and the podcast I launched almost three years ago (July 12th, 2022). Its inception can be trace to an interview I had with the hosts of the Intersection of Technology and Society Magazine (ITSM), Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli. The funny thing is, they wanted to interview me for an article I wrote for Interesting Engineering titled “Life in 2050: A Glimpse at Education in the Future.”
Afterward, I told them what my main subject was (i.e., space and spacey stuff), and they had me back on for two more episodes to discuss the future of space exploration and exoplanet studies. During the second interview, we announced that I was joining ITSP with a new podcast – Stories from Space!
As such, I wish this episode’s subject were less alarming or depressing. But I promise future episodes (knock on wood!) will be cheerier and feature better news!
Stories by Williams 