What would cuts to Nasa mean for space science?

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Technology, Science

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

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Summary

Progress has been made in our search for alien life. So announced a team of scientists from Cambridge university last week who, using a powerful space telescope, have detected molecules which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms. All in all, it’s been a busy week for space science. And all against a backdrop of a US government request to cut NASA’s funding. The proposals would need to be approved by the Senate before any cuts are made. But scientists and journalists are asking what it could mean for the future of space science around the world. Science journalist Jonathan Amos and space researcher Dr Simeon Barber discuss.

Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Richard Binzel updates the programme on plans to learn from an asteroid called Apophis, due to fly past us in four years time. Back on Earth, or rather in it, Victoria Gill gets up close to Roman remains which show that gladiators once fought lions. And Tim O’Brien, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Manchester joins Victoria Gill in the studio to discuss the week’s other science news. Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Clare Salisbury, Jonathan Blackwell, Debbie Kilbride Editor: Colin Paterson Production Co-ordinator: Josie Hardy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, it's Lucy Worsley here and we're back with a brand new series of ladies swindlers.
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0:40.3	Hello, lovely, curious-minded people. You're listening to BBC Inside Science, which was first broadcast on the 24th of April, 2025. I'm Victoria Gill.
0:49.0	Today, we are spending a good deal of our programme in outer space because between asteroids heading in our general
0:54.4	direction, signs of possible life on a distant planet and the world's biggest space agency
0:59.4	facing a funding crisis, it's been a very busy week in space science. So happily, we have
1:04.6	our favourite astrophysicist and friend of the program, Professor Tim O'Brien in the Inside Science
1:09.1	studio here. Hello, Tim.
1:20.7	Hello. Welcome back to the show. Thank you. It's always lovely to have you here. As well as helping us navigate all of that, you're going to be telling us about some of your top science stories this week. Can you give me a quick preview?
1:27.7	Oceans are going to feature large. So oceans more than 100 light years away and then oceans close at hand here on our planet and the role in climate change actually.
1:29.4	But I will have some reassuring news about that asteroid that we're worrying about impacting
1:33.4	the Earth we talked about last time.
1:34.6	That is very good to hear.
1:35.6	Well, thank you, Tim.
1:36.8	Don't go away.
1:37.8	Because now, space scientists have been talking a lot about the Trump administration this week,
	...

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