The 47% budget cut would obliterate NASA's science program, experts say.

Senator Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee which oversees NASA's budget, has supported Artemis in the past, so it is not certain that NASA's budget will be cut by as much as the Trump administration's proposal by the October 1 deadline.

NASA will soon be facing a major brain drain as more than 2,000 senior employees prepare to leave the agency amid a push to reduce its workforce. Some 875 NASA workers work at the highest level of government and in managerial or specialized positions,

"I was surprised to learn that he was a blue-blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before."