The discussion centers around the cancellation of the Cosmic Microwave Background Stage 4 (CMB-S4) project, which aimed to explore the early universe through advanced radio telescopes. Participants express their disappointment and concern regarding the implications of this decision for cosmology and federal science funding.
Participants generally agree on their disappointment regarding the cancellation of CMB-S4, but there is disagreement about the priorities of federal funding, particularly regarding space exploration versus fundamental research.
Participants express concerns about the allocation of federal funding and its impact on various scientific fields, indicating a perceived competition for resources among different projects.
Amid simmering anxiety about the future of federally funded science, the U.S. government has quietly withdrawn support for cosmology’s next premier project, an experiment that would have given us the best read yet of the strangest chapter in our cosmic origin story.
Called CMB-S4—or Cosmic Microwave Background Stage 4—the project would have used a suite of new radio telescopes, constructed in Antarctica and Chile, to search the big bang’s faint, ancient afterglow for new clues about the universe’s earliest moments. First conceived in 2013 and repeatedly ranked as a top priority by the nation’s astronomers and physicists, the project carried an estimated $900-million price tag, which was set to be roughly split between U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Yet in a terse, unsigned statement to project leaders on July 10, the two agencies declared they had “jointly decided that they can no longer support the CMB-S4 project.”
“We knew things weren’t looking good,” says John Carlstrom of the University of Chicago, the project’s principal investigator. “They had warned us that it was not the time to start any big projects, given all the budget areas and all the uncertainty. But whether they would continue to drag us out or have a clean break or try to do something—that was unknown.”
Without federal support, Carlstrom says, the project is essentially canceled. . . . .
On July 9, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a statement informing the CMB-S4 Project that “DOE and NSF have jointly decided that they can no longer support the CMB-S4 Project.” The CMB-S4 Project is proceeding with an orderly shutdown of the project, documenting the technical advances, survey simulations and instrumentation designs created by the project, and preserving access to the extensive document archive. The CMB-S4 Science Collaboration, which is an independent organization, is working to develop plans to best support the community.
They? Isn't that Elon's personal project?willyengland said:This is so sad ...
Instead they are investigating everything in this Men to Mars nonsense.
Yes, but to me it is not nearly as sad as the cancellation of cancer research and other NIH initiatives, along with major science initiatives by various universities.willyengland said:This is so sad ...