Science Policy This Week: March 30, 2026

What’s Ahead

NASA revises lunar plans, plans to extend life of ISS

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a series of changes to the agency’s Moon and Mars plans last week, launching a new set of initiatives under the “Ignition” banner. In a press release, Isaacman said the changes are part of the agency’s effort to deliver on the “near‑impossible” task of returning to the Moon before the end of President Donald Trump’s term. Under the new plan, the first crewed landing will occur with the Artemis IV mission in early 2028. Plans for the Gateway lunar station will be paused indefinitely, allowing the agency to focus instead on establishing a lunar base on the Moon’s surface.

The agency is also reconsidering elements of its plans to decommission the International Space Station. Leaders at NASA and in Congress have long held that the U.S. cannot be left without a presence in low-Earth orbit and have planned for private companies to provide alternatives before the ISS is decommissioned, but no commercial effort appears likely to fill that gap in time. Rather than retire and deorbit the ISS in 2030, NASA now plans to extend its life into the mid-2030s, adding on new modules which could be detached from the ISS at the end of its life and exist as a smaller stand-alone space station. The proposal has already drawn pushback from some corners of the private space industry. NASA also shared plans to launch a demonstration nuclear engine, Space Reactor-1 Freedom, to Mars. The spacecraft would test nuclear-powered space travel and is scheduled to be deployed in December 2028.

NASA also said it plans to increase reliance on commercial providers for science missions. The announcement said the agency plans to “accelerate” the cadence of missions funded through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and highlighted an RFI released this week on “Science as a Service.”

Trump clamps down on federal contractors’ DEI efforts

President Donald Trump issued an executive order last Thursday doubling down on his administration’s efforts to prevent federal contractors from continuing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, with potential consequences for noncompliance including contract terminations and debarment.

Within 30 days, all federal agencies will be required to include new contract language stating that contractors will “not engage in any racially discriminatory DEI activities.” Contractors will be required to provide information to the federal government to assess compliance on request, and will also be responsible for ensuring that their subcontractors are in compliance.

A fact sheet published alongside the executive order says that some entities, including government contractors, “have attempted to conceal ongoing DEI activities even as the administration has worked to end them.” The Trump administration has previously made clear its intent to end DEI activities across the federal government, saying they are inefficient, unethical, and illegal.

DOE Office of Science heads discuss reorg, facilities

The Department of Energy Office of Science staff is at its lowest level in about a decade, the office’s acting Director Harriet Kung said last Friday at the first public Office of Science Advisory Committee meeting. Kung also discussed the Office of Science reorganization announced earlier this month, including the merging of the high energy physics and nuclear physics offices and reducing subdivisions within the biological and environmental research and fusion energy sciences divisions. “We have seen the convergence of these two separate but synergistic portfolios and communities,” Kung said, and the merger aims to “improve efficiency and reduce administrative burden” and “encourage further collaborations,” she added.

Leads of each Office of Science division discussed how facilities costs are taking up a larger portion of their budget each year, putting pressure on research budgets. At the same time, DOE Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil announced $320 million in Office of Science research funding, adding that the awards put DOE “on track to exceed the historical trend in total funding obligated” as of April, seven months into the fiscal year.

Gil directed the advisory committee to stand up two subcommittees: AI for Transformative Science, which will create a decadal AI for science roadmap for the Office of Science, and Facilities of the Future, which will review proposed facilities and upgrades and “prioritize those that will cement our national leadership” over the next ten years, Gil said.

DOE to take over Department of Education headquarters

The Department of Energy is preparing to move its headquarters from the James V. Forrestal Building in Washington, DC, to the nearby Lyndon B. Johnson building, which currently serves as the headquarters for the Department of Education. The Department of Education is set to move to a much smaller office at 500 D Street SW in August.

A General Services Administration press release announcing the move said that DOE’s relocation out of its “oversized and outdated” building would save taxpayers over $350 million in delinquent maintenance costs. DOE’s new headquarters will have a footprint about 45% smaller than its old one. The announcement did not include a target date for DOE’s move.

Also on our radar

The Senate Commerce Committee could not advance the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act or any other bills at its markup Wednesday because Democrats did not attend. Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) called it a “temper tantrum” over a bill that Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wished to add to the markup with insufficient notice. Committee staff on the Democratic side said Cruz planned to block Democratic amendments at the markup.
David Sacks is no longer Trump’s AI and crypto czar because his time limit as a special government employee has ended. He will continue as co-chair of PCAST.
NIH’s ending of subawards for foreign research partnerships last May “significantly impacted” one in four NIH-funded U.S. scientists in a STAT survey of over 1,000 researchers.
NIH is requesting input on an agency-wide, high-level strategic plan for the next five years. Responses are due by May 26.
The National Academies will host a workshop on Wednesday to discuss the economics of the U.S. research enterprise.
CSIS will host an event on NSF’s national security mission on Friday, featuring Brian Stone, NSF acting director, and Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for technology, innovation, and partnerships.

Monday, March 30

National Academies: Annual summit of the Action Collaborative on Education and Workforce Trajectories in Tech (continues Tuesday)

Harvard: Forging a new approach to energy and climate policy
12:00 - 1:15 pm

Harvard: How can the US engage China in arms control? Structural obstacles to Sino-US nuclear stability
1:30 - 3:00 pm

AEI: The future of workforce training in the AI era
4:00 - 5:30 pm

International Space University: Space café with the Netherlands Embassy
6:00 - 8:00 pm

Opportunities

Deadlines indicated in parentheses. Newly added opportunities are marked with a diamond.

Job Openings

National Academies: Editorial assistant (ongoing)
APLU: Senior vice president for academic affairs (ongoing)
APLU: Assistant vice president for governmental affairs (ongoing)
APS: Chief marketing and communications officer (ongoing)
AIP: Director of science policy news (ongoing)
AIP: Senior editor, Physics Today (ongoing)
Science Philanthropy Alliance: Civic science fellow (ongoing)
Foundation for American Innovation: Research fellow, weather and atmospheric interventions (ongoing)
OMB: Program examiner detailee, DOE (April 6)
AAS: John N. Bahcall Public Policy Fellowship (April 15)
◆Senate: Committee legislative director, Democratic ranking member, Commerce Committee (April 17)
◆Senate: Research assistant, Democratic ranking member, Commerce Committee (April 17)
AAS: Editor in Chief (May 11)
ANS: Congressional science and engineering fellowship (June 5)

Solicitations

National Academies: Call for submissions for Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications (April 3)
NSF: RFC on NCSES data collection (April 7)
House Appropriations Committee: Call to submit written testimony on HHS budget (April 16)
◆ANS: Nominations for 40 Under 40, Nuclear News (May 1)
NSF: RFC on renewal of the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (May 8)
NSF: RFC on Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (May 8)
House Appropriations Committee: Call to submit written testimony on FY27 science budget (May 8)
◆NOAA: Solicitation of nominations for membership on the Ocean Research Advisory Panel (May 14)
NIST: RFC on CHIPS Workforce Solution participant data collection (May 18)
NASA: RFC on NASA Front Door (May 19)
◆NIH: RFC on NIH-wide strategic plan for fiscal years 2027-2031 (May 26)
NRC: RFC on regulation of byproduct material associated with fusion machines (May 27)
NSF: RFC on Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program (June 30)

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