The Trump administration has proposed a dramatic shift in NASA’s funding. Here’s why

The president has proposed a massive 24 percent cut to NASA ’s budget, slashing certain scientific programs while boosting efforts to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to Mars .

This isn’t retreating from science but redirecting toward exploration, strategy, and national strength.

The Trump administration is signaling that it wants every dollar allocated to space to focus on one aim: securing a strategic position.

By focusing our space resources on lunar and Martian infrastructure, the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for a sustained American presence in the next great theater of strategic competition.

This move gives NASA the clarity to plant the flag, then return to groundbreaking science, says Julian Zelizer .