The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, and Science included $17.45 billion for NASA as part of its $54.6 billion spending bill.

In addition, the U.S. House of Representatives is currently considering a bill to provide $17.6 billion to NASA.

Presently, NASA’s human spaceflight programs are fully funded as originally requested by NASA. However, the White House cut NASA’s science and aeronautics programs from original NASA requests. This action caused scientists to be disheartened with the direction that the government was taking NASA with respect to its unmanned scientific and research missions.

Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, member of the Appropriations Committee, and chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee, stated that the additional money will balance the manned and unmanned portions of the NASA budget.

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, if the additional money is approved—would get $5.66 billion, about $140 million more.

NASA’s Exploration Systems Directorate would get $3.9 billion and NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate would get $554 million.

In addition, the robotic Moon lander program (called Robotic Lunar Exploration Precursor 2), under the Lunar Precursor and Robotics Program Office, which NASA had cancelled due to lack of funds, would be reinstated. This action is all contingent on whether the U.S. Congress approves or rejects an additional $50 million for funding of the program.

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Moon  NASA  Research  Science  William Atkins