Biden administration budget request includes nearly $25 billion for NASA
Acting agency chief calls bid ‘an investment in our future’
President Joe Biden submitted on Friday a $1.5 trillion budget request that includes $24.7 billion for NASA for 2022.
The ask is part of the budget’s discretionary spending, which must be passed by Congress each year. If approved, it would be $1.5 billion more than in 2021, a 6.3% increase.
“This $24.7 billion funding request demonstrates the Biden Administration’s commitment to NASA and its partners who have worked so hard this past year … and achieved unprecedented success,” acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk said.
The majority of the increased funding would support the Artemis program that aims to land the first woman on the moon by 2024, and to an investment in technology and research aimed at lowering costs over time. It would also boost funding to climate science missions.
“The president’s discretionary request increases NASA’s ability to better understand Earth, and further monitor and predict the impacts of climate change,” Jurczyk said. “It also gives us the necessary resources to continue advancing America’s bipartisan moon-to-Mars space exploration plan, including landing the first woman and first person of color on the moon under the Artemis program.”
The budget seeks to maintain funding for scientific, robotic missions, including for the Mars mission to bring back soil to Earth, the Clipper mission to Jupiter moon Europa, the Dragonfly mission to fly a drone-like craft on Saturn moon Titan, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
Requests with significant increases are:
■ $6.9 billion for human exploration of the moon, Mars and beyond, an increase of $325 million.
■ $1.4 billion for NASA’s Space Technology research and development portfolio, an increase of $325 million.
■ $2.3 billion for Earth Science programs, an increase of $250 million.
■ $915 million for aeronautics research and development, an increase of $86 million.
■ $20 million for Office of STEM Engagement, an increase of $2.75 million.
“We know this funding increase comes at a time of constrained resources, and we owe it to the president and the American people to be good and responsible stewards of every tax dollar invested in NASA,” Jurczyk said. “The … request … is an investment in our future.”