The Trump administration is planning to end two NASA missions dedicated to tracking a significant greenhouse gas and assessing plant health, cutting off a crucial data source for scientists, policymakers, and farmers.
President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal eliminates funding for the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, which provide detailed data on carbon dioxide emissions and absorption, as well as crop health monitoring.
NASA stated in an email on Wednesday that these missions have surpassed their initial objectives and are being discontinued to align with the President’s broader goals and budgetary constraints.
However, these missions — consisting of a free-flying satellite launched in 2014 and a device affixed to the International Space Station in 2019 employing technology similar to the Hubble Space Telescope — remain the most sensitive and precise systems globally, either in operation or planned. David Crisp, a former NASA scientist who spearheaded their development, insists they are a “national asset” that deserves preservation.
The missions have enabled discoveries such as the Amazon rainforest releasing more carbon dioxide than it absorbs while boreal forests in regions like Canada and Russia absorb more than they emit, particularly where permafrost is melting, according to Crisp.
Additionally, they can measure the photosynthetic “glow” of plants, aiding in drought monitoring and predicting potential food shortages that could trigger social unrest and famine.
“This is really critical,” Crisp said. “We’re learning so much about this rapidly changing planet.”
The decision to end the missions is “extremely shortsighted,” said Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist at the University of Michigan.
“The observations provided by these satellites … (are) critical for managing growing climate change impacts around the planet, including in the U.S.,” he said.
Looking to Congress
Crisp and others hope Congress will vote to preserve funding for the missions, which are funded through the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.
A bill in the House closely aligns with the president’s request and would eliminate the missions, while a Senate version preserves them. But with Congress in recess, it is unclear whether a budget will be adopted before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
If it doesn’t, Congress could adopt a resolution to continue current funding until a budget is passed, though some lawmakers fear the Trump administration could try to delay or withhold that money.
Congressional Democrats warned acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy last month that it would be illegal to terminate missions or impound funds already appropriated by Congress.
Experts said the administration’s move to eliminate funding aligns with other actions to cut or bury climate science.
“The principle seems to be that if we stop measuring climate change it will just disappear from the American consciousness,” said University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann.
Backup plan
Crisp and others also are trying to put together a coalition of outside partners — including from Japan and Europe — that could fund and operate the instrument attached to the space station. NASA said it will accept outside proposals through Aug. 29.
The free-flying satellite, though, is at risk of being brought down, meaning it would burn up in the atmosphere. National Public Radio first reported that NASA employees were making plans to end the missions.
Crisp said advocates are hoping NASA also allows outside control of that satellite, which covers more of the globe, but there are legal hurdles to overcome because it would mean giving control of a U.S. satellite to a group that could include foreign partners.
“We’re going out to billionaires. We’re going out to foundations,” Crisp said. “But … it’s a really, really bad idea to try and push it off onto private industry or private individuals or private donors. It just doesn’t make sense.”
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