The Trump administration is requesting $25.2 billion for NASA in fiscal 2021, a 12% increase which includes $3.3 billion to kickstart development of a human-rated lander for the Artemis moon program. Nearly half of the budget request, $12.3 billion, is devoted to new and ongoing projects focused on the return to the moon and eventual flights to Mars.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said, “this is a 21st century budget worthy of 21st century space exploration and one of the strongest budgets in NASA history. If the president’s support for NASA wasn’t clear before, it should be obvious now.”
NASA states it will cost about $35 billion to fund the Artemis moon program through the first landing of a man and woman on the lunar surface in 2024. To make that happen, the budget request says NASA will need $25.2 billion in 2021, $27.2 billion in fiscal 2022, $28.6 billion in 2023, $28.1 billion in 2024 and $26.3 billion in 2025.
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