@ZLabe Promoting to #NOAA #BrainDrain

That includes the Nancy Grace Roman Space #Telescope, which has been designed to study distant #galaxies & faraway #planets from an orbital outpost about a million miles from Earth. The hardware of the Roman is in place & being integrated & tested at #NASA’s Goddard #Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. The Roman is scheduled to launch as early as Sept 2026.

The #Hubble & #Webb space #telescopes —celebrated for their long list of discoveries as well as stunning images of the #universe — would remain supported under the proposal. However, no other telescope would be funded.

“This is an extinction-level event for #NASA science,” said Casey Dreier, chief of #space policy for the #Planetary Society, a space advocacy group. “It needlessly terminates functional, productive #science missions & cancels new missions currently being built, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars in the process. This is neither efficient nor smart budgeting.”

#Trump #BrainDrain #AntiIntellectualism #research #tech #advancement #progress

#Trump’s #budget proposal, though not yet formally submitted to Congress, would eviscerate a long list of #planetary & #astronomical missions, including the next major #NASA #space #telescope & the agency’s goal of bringing samples of #Mars back to Earth to search for signs of ancient life.

NASA’s #astrophysics budget would take a huge hit, dropping from ~$1.5B to $487M. Planetary #science would see a drop from $2.7B to $1.9B. #EarthScience would drop from ~$2.2B to $1.033B.

#NASA’s #science budget could be cut nearly in half under an early version of #Trump’s #budget proposal to #Congress, a move that would terminate billions of dollars’ worth of ongoing & future missions….

The budget plan, sent to NASA by the #RussVought led #OMB, would give NASA’s Science Mission Directorate $3.9B, down from its current budget of about $7.3B….

The Grantham Institute at Imperial College #London, which specialises in #ClimateChange #research, is creating at least 2 more research fellowship posts for early-career #climate researchers from the US & has already seen an clear uptick in applications, said its Director of Research, Joeri Rogelj.

#Eindhoven Tech President Robert-Jan Smits said bringing in #US scientists could boost #Europe's #technological sovereignty in areas like #semiconductors.

#Belgium's sister #universities Vrije Universiteit Brussel & Université Libre de Bruxelles launched a scheme encouraging US-based #researchers to apply for 36 postdoctoral positions. And the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which promotes the exchange of top scientists to #Germany, plans to increase its programs by ~20%.

"Our colleagues were frightened...It was our duty to rise to the occasion," university director Eric Berton said, noting 10 European #universities have contacted him about launching similar programs.

In the #Netherlands, the govt wants to establish a fund to attract top foreign scientists & bolster the #EU's 'strategic autonomy' aims, #Education Minister Eppo Bruins said in a letter to parliament on 20 March.

…Aix Marseille University in #France told Reuters it had received interest from 120 researchers at institutions in the US, including #NASA & #Stanford, for a €15-million “safe space for #science” program launched on March 7. The initiative aims to attract #US staff from fields including #health, #LGBT+ #medicine, #epidemiology & #ClimateChange.

"Regulatory #uncertainty, #funding cuts, #immigration restrictions, & diminished international collaboration create a perfect storm for #BrainDrain," said Gray McDowell at…Capgemini Invent.

…#Europe's political leaders feel the stance of the #Trump admin has put wind in their sails.

"The American government is currently using brute force against the #universities in the #USA, so that #researchers from #America are now contacting Europe," #Germany's chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, said.

In #Germany, as part of coalition talks for a new govt, conservatives and Social Democrats have drawn up plans to lure up to 1,000 #researchers, acc/to negotiation docs from March seen by Reuters that allude to the upheaval in #US higher learning.

Reuters spoke to 13 European #universities & #research institutes that reported seeing an increase in US-based employees considering crossing the Atlantic, as well as half a dozen US-based #academics pondering a move to #Europe.

The European Research Council, an #EU body that finances #scientific work, told Reuters it would double the relocation budget for funding #researchers moving to the EU to €2 million ($2.16 million) per applicant. That goes towards covering the cost of moving to a European institution, which may involve setting up a laboratory.

The threat to #academics' livelihoods at universities including #Yale, #Columbia & #JohnsHopkins has given #Europe's political leaders hope they could reap an #intellectual windfall.

A letter, reviewed by Reuters, signed in March by 13 European countries including #France, #Germany & #Spain, urged the #EU Commission to move fast to attract #academic talent.