EDITORIAL: After Artemis' success, NASA cuts disappoint
From the time it was launched more than 60 years ago, the United States' space program has expanded humanity's imagination and reinforced a belief in our species' unlimited potential. Those traits have been evident in recent weeks with the Artemis II crew's journey around the moon and safe return to Earth.
During a 10-day mission, the astronauts traveled farther than any humans in history and rekindled Americans' faith in the benefits of exploration.
"This was not easy, being 200,000-plus miles away from home," Artemis II Cmdr. Reid Wiseman said during a press conference. "Before you launch it feels like it's the greatest dream on Earth. And when you are out there you just want to get back to your families and your friends."
For millennia, humans gazed skyward and wondered what is up there, what the surface of the moon is like (hint: it's not actually cheese or quicksand) and whether our species ever would explore our skies. And then we decided to find the answers.
The initial moon landing in 1969 was a monumental testament to human will and achievement. That was followed over a handful of years by five additional crewed landings, bringing to 12 the number of humans who have walked on our planet's only natural satellite.
That number remains unchanged as the Artemis II crew flew around the far side of the moon, hopefully paving the way for future landings. It has been more than 50 years since such a landing, yet our interest in space exploration has not waned.
From 1981 to 2011, the United States employed a space shuttle program that routinely carried crews and cargo into space. And since 2000, the International Space Station has continuously housed a rotating crew of astronauts living approximately 250 miles above the Earth. Privately funded missions have joined government endeavors in carrying people to distances once considered unattainable.
Yet while scientific exploration of space has remained constant, there remains something particularly magical about the moon. After all, the orb - which has a circumference of approximately 6,700 miles - is part of the nightly experience uniformly shared by more than 8 billion humans. And when people can travel to the moon and return safely, it is proof of our capabilities.
Because of that, it is disappointing that the latest budget proposal from the Trump administration calls for slashing NASA's budget by about one-quarter from the current level of spending. "NASA's budget is greater than every other space agency across the world," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told CNN, offering support for the budget cuts.
Such a status is not a bad thing. It helps retain the United States' role as a leader in scientific discovery and human exploration.
NASA's budget for fiscal 2026 is $24.4 billion - approximately 0.35 percent of the federal budget. And while all spending demands scrutiny, few endeavors cultivate as much national pride as the space program. Budget cuts should be thoughtful rather than draconian.
As Artemis II crew member Christina Koch said, reflecting on the view from space: "Honestly, what struck me wasn't necessarily just Earth, it was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe."
That provides a powerful perspective. Missions to the moon remain an extraordinary achievement that remind us of humanity's small place in the universe and its oversized capacity for accomplishments.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 7:07 AM.