Joel Achenbach

1 week ago | washingtonpost.com | Danielle Douglas-Gabriel |Carolyn Johnson |Joel Achenbach

NIH resumes, then again pauses funding to Columbia amid negotiations (washingtonpost.com) NIH resumes, then again pauses funding to Columbia amid negotiations By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel; Carolyn Y.

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Christian Davenport |Joel Achenbach

President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request, if approved by Congress, would killmany of NASA’s plans for robotic exploration of the solar system. Gone, too, would be multiple space-based missions to study Earth, the sun and the rest of the universe. Among the planets that would get less attention are Venus, Mars and Jupiter. But the planet facing the biggest drop in scrutiny from space is our own. The Trump budget proposal calls for reducing Earth science funding by 53%.

2 weeks ago | washingtonpost.com | Joel Achenbach |Christian Davenport

The NASA science missions that would be axed in Trump’s 2026 budget (washingtonpost.com) The NASA science missions that would be axed in Trump’s 2026 budget By Joel Achenbach; Christian Davenport 2025060810000300 President Donald Trump's fiscal 2026 budget request, if approved by Congress, would kill many of NASA's plans for robotic exploration of the solar system.

3 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Joel Achenbach |Carolyn Johnson |Kate Brady

Kartik Sheth is an astrophysicist and, until a few weeks ago, was the associate chief scientist at NASA. On March 10, he got an unexpected email: “I regret to inform you that you are being affected by a [reduction-in-force] action. … Therefore, you will be separated from NASA at the close of business on April 10, 2025.”One of 23 NASA employees laid off that day, including everyone in the Office of the Chief Scientist, Sheth is now looking for a job — anywhere.

4 weeks ago | washingtonpost.com | Joel Achenbach

SpaceX Starship failure casts further doubt on NASA’s moon landing timeline (washingtonpost.com) SpaceX Starship failure casts further doubt on NASA’s moon landing timeline By Joel Achenbach 2025052911003700 NASA hopes to put astronauts on the moon in just two years, but a critical spacecraft required for the mission keeps exploding or disintegrating: SpaceX's Starship, the largest rocket ever built.