New photos show off NASA's newly constructed Roman Space Telescope, which will soon help researchers unravel the mysteries of the cosmos. Experts have also revealed when the next-gen spacecraft is set to launch and begin collecting data.

Congress has approved a fiscal year 2026 spending bill that largely restores funding proposed for deep cuts to NASA while canceling one major mission.

NASA’s ESCAPADE mission is being held up as a test case for a new era of cheaper planetary science, one where small spacecraft and commercial rockets promise big discoveries at a fraction of traditional costs.

On Monday, Congress made good on those promises, releasing a $24.4 billion budget plan for NASA as part of the conferencing process, when House and Senate lawmakers convene to hammer out a final budget. The result is a budget that calls for just a 1 percent cut in NASA’s science funding, to $7.25 billion, for fiscal year 2026.

A Congressional bill restores funding for most NASA space science missions, but there is no money for returning samples already collected on the red planet.

Advocates for space science research are concerned about job losses and cuts to funding at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.