NASA is shutting down some of its social media accounts, including the Curiosity rover’s Twitter account

NASA has announced a project to consolidate its social media accounts, which will include closing the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the Curiosity rover.

Curiosity’s departure is linked to a reduction in the number of accounts

The decision will affect dozens of accounts managed by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, including @MarsCuriosity and @NASAPersevere, accounts dedicated to the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. Publications about the Mars missions will now be posted through the merged @NASAMars account.

MarsCuriosity and @NASAPersevere are both accounts dedicated to the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers.

As part of the project, NASA is archiving or merging 29 accounts. Some will be renamed to align with the agency’s new strategic structure and more accurately reflect alignment with key initiatives.

Some of them will be renamed to align with the agency’s new strategic structure and more accurately reflect alignment with key initiatives.

As NASA explains, the goal of the restructuring is to “make information about our work more accessible to a broader audience and eliminate redundancy and confusion.” Currently, the agency has more than 400 accounts on 15 different platforms.

At present, the agency has more than 400 accounts on 15 different platforms.

Simplifying account maintenance could affect perceptions of missions

While simplifying the communications system seems logical given its scope, closing highly specialized accounts could affect the audience’s recognition and emotional connection to individual missions. For example, the @MarsCuriosity account has become one of the symbols for popularizing Martian exploration, and Curiosity’s “voice” helped shape the mission’s image as a personal and inspiring adventure.

At the time, Curiosity’s “voice” helped shape the mission’s image as a personal and inspiring adventure.

NASA faces risk of budget cuts

The consolidation of accounts comes amid possible major cuts to NASA’s budget. According to the Trump administration’s draft 2026 budget, the agency could lose about $6 billion in funding. As The Washington Post reports, that could lead to the cancelation of a number of science missions, including launching a probe to Venus, collecting samples from asteroids, and a joint study with the European Space Agency on gravitational waves.

The NASA is shutting down some social media accounts, including the Curiosity rover’s Twitter account was first published on ITZine.ru.