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NASA’s planetary science research and analysis (R&A) portfolio lost purchasing power between fiscal years 2011 and 2025: an investigation summarized by Eos reports an inflation-adjusted decline of 30%. That finding concerns planetary science—not every NASA research program—and it is separate from a newer report that FY2025 costs incurred were more than 50% below budgeted amounts through June 30, 2026.
Which NASA research funding is at issue?
The figures concern the Planetary Science Division’s research and analysis portfolio. R&A supports openly competed proposals for basic research and data analysis, including work connected to space telescopes, interplanetary spacecraft, and lunar science. The National Academies describes research as helping set scientific goals, design missions, and develop needed technologies; analysis turns data from flight projects into scientific knowledge.
This is not one neatly labeled NASA budget line. R&A activities are spread across programs and missions, so calculating a total requires decisions about which spending belongs in the portfolio. The National Academies’ 2023 planetary science survey specifically notes that there is no standard definition of R&A, complicating comparisons over time.
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Eos reported in 2026 that planetary science R&A’s inflation-adjusted value fell 30% from FY2011 to FY2025, summarizing an investigation by planetary scientist Mark V. Sykes. This is a change in purchasing power over that period, not a claim that NASA’s total budget or every NASA research account fell by 30%. The available summary does not provide a complete annual series or enough detail to independently reconstruct the calculation here.
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Other reported figures describe different dimensions of the issue. Eos says R&A received $119 million in 2013, compared with $140 million recommended by the 2011 planetary science decadal survey. For FY2023, it reports R&A at 2.5% of the Planetary Science Division budget—about $185 million below a 10% share. Those dollar comparisons and budget shares should not be read as the same measure as the 30% inflation-adjusted change.
How the National Academies’ figures compare
The 2023 National Academies planetary science and astrobiology decadal survey uses its own definition of R&A. Under that definition, R&A fell from 14% of the division’s budget in 2010 to less than 8% projected for FY2023. The survey also reports that submissions of R&A proposals increased by more than 30% and selected proposals decreased by more than 40% since 2010.
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These statistics provide context about the portfolio’s share and competition for awards, but they are not interchangeable with Sykes’s reconstructed funding series. The survey notes that NASA’s definition and the committee’s definition can differ. It also cites an earlier midterm review that, using a different method, found FY2016 spending had risen 32% relative to FY2011 and exceeded the 2011 survey’s specified growth recommendation. That methodological disagreement is a reason to examine definitions and accounting choices, not proof by itself that one series is wrong.
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What the 10% target means
The 2023 decadal survey recommends that NASA raise planetary R&A to at least 10% of the Planetary Science Division’s annual budget by mid-decade, with a progressive increase focused on openly competed programs. Separately, Eos reports that the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act set a goal for relevant NASA R&A grants to reach 10% of relevant division funding by FY2025.
These are a recommendation and a goal, not a legally binding spending mandate. The percentage also depends on how R&A and the division’s total budget are defined. A percentage target therefore does not, by itself, establish a single dollar amount that must be spent.
Did NASA spend its FY2025 planetary R&A budget?
In a September 2026 update based on records received through a Freedom of Information Act request, Sykes reported that planetary R&A costs incurred through June 30, 2026 were more than 50% below FY2025 budgeted amounts in aggregate. The cutoff is after FY2025 ended, but the reported comparison is between budgeted amounts and costs incurred by that date; it should not be described as a final audit or a definitive account of the final disposition of funds.
The records establish a reported gap, not its cause. Sykes told Eos that, in his characterization, “For years, money budgeted has been very close to money expensed.” His comment describes the departure he observed; it does not establish why costs were lower or what happened to the unspent amounts.
Why the numbers should not be combined
Five distinctions matter when interpreting claims about NASA planetary R&A:
- Nominal funding versus purchasing power: an inflation-adjusted decline measures the change in what funding can buy, not simply the change in dollars.
- Budget share versus funding level: a percentage of the Planetary Science Division budget can change as either R&A or the division’s total changes.
- Different portfolio definitions: the investigative reconstruction and the National Academies’ R&A series do not necessarily count the same activities.
- Budgeted amounts versus incurred costs: the FY2025 update compares planned budget amounts with costs recorded through a specific later date.
- Recommendation versus requirement: the 10% figure is a decadal-survey recommendation and a reported policy goal, not a binding mandate.
NASA’s budget and reports index is the official starting point for agency budget requests and financial reports. It does not, by itself, verify the investigator’s reconstructed R&A series.
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