Title page 1

Contents 3

Highlights 2

Letter 9

Background 11

NASA's Project Management Policy and Life Cycle for Major Projects 11

NASA Cost and Schedule Commitments 13

NASA Project Management Policy and Project Category Types 15

NASA Projects We Reviewed in Our 2026 Assessment 16

Changes to NASA's Artemis Missions 18

NASA's Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027 President's Budget Requests 20

Workforce Separation Programs at NASA in 2025 22

Schedule Delays and Cost Overruns Were Limited Across the Portfolio, but Most Artemis Projects Were Under Review 22

Most Projects Reported No Annual Schedule Delays and Cost Overruns 23

Cumulative Schedule Delays and Cost Growth Increased Slightly for the Portfolio 25

Most Artemis Project Estimates Were Under Review Due to Mission Changes and Performance Challenges 28

Artemis Mission Changes Introduce Challenges and Opportunities for NASA's Acquisition Management 30

NASA Faces Management Challenges as It Adjusts Artemis Missions Plans 30

Opportunities for NASA to Improve Acquisition Management 33

NASA's Workforce Reductions Are Affecting Project Management and Created a Need for a Workforce Assessment 36

NASA Reduced Its Civil Servant Workforce Based on Government-Wide Initiatives 37

Effects of Workforce Reductions Vary Across Major Projects 40

NASA Is Assessing Its Workforce Needs to Identify Skill Gaps and Inform Hiring and Training Plans 41

Agency Comments 44

Appendix I: Individual Project Assessments 47

Artemis Projects 49

Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program (EHP) - Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Development 51

Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program (EHP) - Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) 53

Gateway Initial Capability 55

Human Landing System (HLS) - Initial Capability (IC) 57

Human Landing System (HLS) - Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) 59

Mobile Launcher 2 (ML2) 61

Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) 63

Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1B and Block 2 65

Non-Artemis Projects 67

Commercial Crew Program (CCP) 69

Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) 71

Dragonfly 73

Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) 75

Earth System Observatory - Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment - Continuity (GRACE-C) 77

Earth System Observatory - Surface Biology and Geology - Thermal Infrared (SBG-TIR) 79

Mars Sample Return (MSR) 81

MUlti-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) 83

Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor 85

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman) 87

Rosalind Franklin Support and Augmentation (ROSA) 89

United States Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) 91

Appendix II: NASA Major Projects in Early Formulation 93

Appendix III: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 95

Appendix IV: Estimated Life-Cycle Costs and Launch Dates for Major NASA Projects in Development Assessed in GAO's 2026 Report 103

Appendix V: Major NASA Projects and Programs in GAO's Annual Reports from 2009 to 2026 That Completed Development 106

Appendix VI: Cumulative Development Cost and Schedule Performance for NASA's Current Portfolio of Major Projects 109

Appendix VII: Comments from NASA 111

Appendix VIII: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 113

Appendix IX: Additional Source Information for Sources and Figures 114

Related GAO Products 115

Table 1. Characteristics of NASA Program Replans and Rebaselines 15

Table 2. NASA Project Category Cost Threshold Definitions 16

Table 3. Changes to Cost and Schedule Estimates for Major NASA Projects and Programs in Development Since GAO's 2025 Assessment 23

Table 4. Anticipated and Planned Changes to NASA's Major Projects as a Result of Updated Artemis Mission Campaign 31

Table 5. Select NASA Centers Workforce Levels and Major Projects Managed 41

Table 6. NASA's Major Projects in the Early Formulation Phase That Are Not Designated as Category 1 93

Table 7. Life-Cycle Cost and Schedule Estimates of Artemis and Artemis-Related Major NASA Projects in Development 103

Table 8. Life-Cycle Cost and Schedule Estimates of Non-Artemis Major NASA Projects in Development 104

Table 9. Approved Rebaseline and Current Life-Cycle Cost and Schedule Estimates for Major NASA Projects 105

Table 10. Major NASA Projects and Programs in GAO's Annual Reports from 2009 to 2026 That Completed Development 106

Table 11. Cumulative Development Cost and Schedule Overruns for NASA's Current Portfolio of 18 Major Projects in Development 109

Figure 1. NASA's Life Cycle for Space Flight Projects 12

Figure 2. Major NASA Projects and Programs Reviewed in GAO's 2026 Assessment 17

Figure 3. NASA's Announced Changes to the Artemis III Mission 19

Figure 4. NASA's Announced Changes to Artemis IV and V Missions 20

Figure 5. Comparison of Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026 Appropriations with Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027 President's Budget Requests 21

Figure 6. Cumulative Development Cost Overruns for NASA's Portfolio of Major Projects 26

Figure 7. NASA Workforce Reductions by Select States from March 22, 2025, to January 10, 2026 38

Figure 8. Illustration of an Example Project Assessment 48

Figure 9. Projects Included in GAO Analyses and Informational Appendixes 96