NASA’s science missions, which have been central to space exploration and scientific discovery, are facing significant challenges as the White House has proposed major reductions to NASA’s budget for fiscal year 2026. These proposed cuts could affect ongoing and future missions, as well as research and teaching at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz).
According to UC Santa Cruz’s Office of Research annual report for 2024, NASA was among the top ten sources of external funding for the university. Most of this funding supports work in astronomy, astrophysics, Earth and planetary sciences, ocean sciences, and physics.
On October 5 and 6, 2025, researchers and advocates across the United States participated in a Day of Action to Save NASA Science. The campaign aims to maintain NASA’s Science Mission Directorate budget at $7.3 billion for fiscal year 2026 and prevent cancellations of active science programs. UC Santa Cruz is supporting this initiative.
Professor Natalie Batalha from UC Santa Cruz is among those highlighting the university’s contributions to NASA’s legacy. Batalha served as scientific lead for NASA’s Kepler mission, which identified over 2,700 exoplanets—many with potential conditions for life. She led the team that confirmed the first rocky planet outside our solar system in 2011. Her current research continues exploring planetary habitability.
Batalha works with an interdisciplinary group from UC Santa Cruz, University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Kansas, and NASA Ames Research Center on projects funded by NASA’s Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR). Their research examines planets orbiting stars in the Milky Way and how these findings relate to planetary habitability.
“NASA serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration across the globe and embodies the best qualities in human beings. Its science missions deliver profound new discoveries that change our thinking and ultimately change who we are as a species,” Batalha said.
Poised to find evidence of life beyond Earth, Batalha added that NASA is inspiring youth to pursue careers in science: “to be part of the generation that puts an end to our cosmic loneliness,” she said. “I can’t imagine a world without NASA playing a leading role in that quest.”
UC Santa Cruz has played a significant role in discoveries related to gravitational waves, stellar structure, explosive phenomena shaping galaxies, and exoplanet habitability. Its Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics includes scientists whose work contributed to fixing Hubble Space Telescope optics—a project supported by NASA funds.
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz’s Baskin School of Engineering have also collaborated with NASA through their Applied Mathematics Department to develop models predicting solar activity such as flares or coronal mass ejections—events that can disrupt terrestrial infrastructure like power grids and telecommunications.
NASA-supported projects provide students opportunities to work alongside leading scientists while advancing technologies used beyond space exploration—for example GPS systems or advances in computing—which impact daily life across society.
The proposed federal cuts threaten not only scientific progress but also educational opportunities and technological advancements tied directly or indirectly to space research efforts led by institutions like UC Santa Cruz.
UC Santa Cruz joins others within the broader University of California system urging lawmakers not to proceed with these reductions. The university calls on its community—including students, faculty members, alumni, and supporters—to advocate for maintaining robust support for federal science funding.
