NASA is shutting down some official social media a...

NASA is shutting down a number of social media accounts run by the Science Mission Directorate, together with the official Mars Curiosity Rover account on X. The group says it made the choice with a view to “make its work extra accessible to the general public, avoiding the potential for oversaturation or confusion.”

The “social media consolidation mission” is concentrated partially on X, the place there are dozens NASA accounts affiliated with particular missions and areas of analysis. Thus far 29 accounts are being archived or consolidated with different accounts, together with @MarsCuriosity and @NASAPersevere, the 2 accounts for the group’s Mars rovers. Posts about each missions will now come from the extra common @NASAMars. Some social media accounts will even “rebranded to higher align with the brand new strategic framework,” NASA says, “reflecting a broader scope or a extra direct connection to core NASA initiatives.”

With “over 400 particular person accounts throughout 15 platforms” it is not precisely unreasonable that NASA is attempting to streamline issues, however there may be some a lot appreciated specificity misplaced when information and knowledge is coming from a extra common account. NASA’s Curiosity is beloved and the company’s analysis into Mars was doubtless extra well-known as a result of the social media account made figuring out with the rover simpler.

Past social media accounts, NASA might be heading into subsequent 12 months with far fewer assets on the whole. The Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget consists of round a $6 billion reduce to NASA’s funding. The restricted assets may result in a number of deliberate missions being cancelled The Washington Post reports, together with sending a probe to Venus, taking mineral samples from asteroids and finding out gravitational waves with the European House Company.