Warren, MA Lawmakers Defend Restored Chandra Funding and Request Information on the Potential Scientific Damage Caused by Future Funding Cuts for the Sole U.S. X-Ray Telescope
Following concerns by MA lawmakers, NASA restored funding for the telescope
Future funding cuts could cede telescope leadership to Europe, Japan, or China
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), along with Representatives Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) wrote to the Chandra X-Ray Center (Chandra), funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with concerns over the telescope’s long-term funding plans.
NASA’s FY 2025 budget proposal slashed funding for the Chandra telescope project by tens of millions of dollars, effectively shutting the project down and leaving the U.S. without an X-ray telescope. Following concerns raised by Senators Warren, Markey, and Whitehouse, as well as Representatives Moulton, McGovern, Trahan, Lynch, DelBene, and Auchincloss, NASA restored funding for the program.
The Chandra telescope was launched in 1999 and continues to provide essential, rare data that helps maintain the United States’ lead in astronomy and astrophysics. Chandra provides insight into the universe that would not be possible with Earth-based telescopes. The program supports around 200 jobs, including 130 telescope staff and 60 support staff, postdocs, and students with X-ray-specific skills.
In a conference survey, 60 percent of the U.S. X-ray experts report they would leave the United States if Chandra was eliminated, which could risk ceding U.S. leadership in X-ray astronomy to Europe, Japan, or China.
In the last few months, NASA officials assured Congress and Chandra staff that the agency would restore Chandra’s fiscal year 2025 funding, keeping the telescope fully operational for an additional year. However, NASA has not released plans to keep Chandra funded until a replacement is ready.
“We are glad NASA looked at the evidence we presented and decided to restore Chandra’s funding for another year, but Congress and NASA need to continue their support for X-ray astronomy,” wrote the Massachusetts lawmakers.
The lawmakers asked Chandra to explain the full impact of the potential loss of the telescope and evaluate the justification NASA provided to cut the project by November 15, 2024.
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