Congressional Planetary Science Caucus Concerned About Mars Sample Return

Keith’s note: According to this press release issued on Monday by Rep. Judy Chu CA-28, whose district includes JPL and Caltech: “Today, President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reportedly sent a preliminary budget plan to NASA that proposes a 50% cut to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and to eliminate funding for the Mars Sample Return (MRS) mission led by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is owned by NASA and administered by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).” Full text below.

Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), whose district includes JPL and Caltech, released the following statement:

As a steadfast champion of Caltech and JPL and strong supporter of the Mars Sample Return program as our nation’s highest planetary science priority, I am horrified by the reports that the Trump White House wants to defund the MSR mission entirely. I can’t be clear enough: this decision would devastate our region, our workforce, and our future scientific discoveries. Completing this mission and bringing back these samples—which are already being collected on Mars’ surface—is essential to maintaining American leadership on Mars and paving the way for eventual human exploration of the planet. Ending funding now would completely undermine the decades of investments already made into our Mars program, devastate our nation’s Mars workforce at JPL and around the country, and threaten years of future scientific discovery and innovation to come. JPL has already lost hundreds of Mars experts last year due to shortsighted budget cuts, and our nation’s world-class space program cannot afford to lose more. I will work tirelessly with my colleagues in Congress of both parties to fully reject the Trump Administration’s plan and designate the robust and appropriate funding this year and beyond for MSR. I will never stop fighting to protect the workforce and bring these samples back so we can continue to pursue the kinds of groundbreaking scientific discovery and technological innovation that JPL, and the United States, have been on the frontlines of for decades.”

Rep. Chu and Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02), who both co-Chair the bipartisan Congressional Planetary Science Caucus, released the following joint statement today in response:

“As Co-Chairs of the Planetary Science Caucus, we are extremely alarmed by reports of a preliminary White House budget that proposes cutting NASA Science funding by almost half and terminating dozens of programs already well underway, like the Mars Sample Return mission and the Roman Space Telescope. NASA Science is a cornerstone of our nation’s space program, supporting thousands of jobs nationwide and driving countless scientific discoveries and technological advancements. If enacted, these proposed cuts would demolish our space economy and workforce, threaten our national security and defense capabilities, and ultimately surrender the United States’ leadership in space, science, and technological innovation to our adversaries. The United States must be the first to land and return samples from Mars and return humans to the moon for the first time in more than half a century. We will work closely with our colleagues in Congress on a bipartisan basis to push back against these proposed cuts and program terminations and to ensure full and robust funding for NASA Science in Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations. Together, we must maintain America’s preeminence in space.”