NASA is under threat of funding cuts: What does this mean for the Chandra and Hubble telescopes?

NASA's budget proposal for 2025 has caused serious concern among astronomers due to the possible reduction in funding for two prominent space telescopes.

Here's What We Know

This mainly concerns the Chandra X-ray telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope.

In April 2023, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, together with the X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), provided the world with an image of the Crab Nebula.

The proposed budget for 2025, $1.58 billion for its astrophysics division, will result in a significant reduction in the funds allocated to maintain and operate these telescopes. This could have serious consequences for their scientific work and observational capabilities.

NASA attributes these cuts to technical problems with the Chandra telescope and the cost of running it, however, some scientists dispute this and claim that the technical difficulties have already been resolved.

Source: Gizmodo