The recent United States government's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that was recently signed into law has good news for the future of crewed spaceflight — but at the same time, Trump's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year nearly annihilates NASA science missions.
Let's take a closer look at the positives first. The bill contains special provisions for NASA's Artemis moon program, which seeks to return astronauts to the surface of the moon. Artemis 1, an uncrewed mission that took a jaunt around the moon, has already flown — as things stand, Artemis 2 is scheduled for launch in the first half of 2026 and will send astronauts on a flyby mission around the moon. Artemis 3 is planned to be the first lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.
