A proposed US Office of Management and Budget rule could give political appointees greater control over federal research grants, prompting warnings that it would damage space science. The Planetary Society argues that the changes could weaken peer review, restrict public access to taxpayer-funded findings and make scientists vulnerable to politically motivated funding decisions.

The proposal has received more than 500,000 public comments, compared with fewer than 100 for a typical OMB rule, with most reportedly opposing it. NASA has spent more than a decade making its data and resulting research freely available, but the rule could prevent grant money being used for open-access publishing and allow grants to be ended broadly, including over researchers’ associations or perceived political views.