Good newsworthiness , everyone . NASA’slatest budgethas just been put forward by Congress – and they have allocated the agency $ 750 million more than they requested . This mean the representation ’s full budget for 2016 is $ 19.3 billion , which incredibly – in an age of cutting cost – is almost $ 1.3 billion more than last year .
The budget increases funding to several key computer programme at NASA , include its Commercial Crew program , its Space Launch System ( SLS ) Eruca vesicaria sativa , and the Orion spacecraft . " We are go back into quad with Americans on American rockets , and we are going to Mars , " Senator Bill Nelsonsaid yesterday .
Perhaps most interestingly , $ 175 million of the budget has been arrange aside for theEuropa Multi - Flyby Mission , a spacecraft that will be sent to Europa in the former 2020s , and the budget dictate that NASA must admit a lander for the surface of this icy lunar month of Jupiter . " This mission shall include an artificial satellite with a lander that will include competitively select instruments and that funds shall be used to nail down the mission design construct , " it reads , reportedArs Technica .
A lander has been touted for the upcoming Europa mission before , but NASA has not been incisive to firmly commit to anything yet , as there are many unknowns about contract such a landing . It stay on to be seen how they ’ll go fore with this request .
withal , the large amount of financial support essentially allows NASA to meet most of the other goals it has set up itself . Crucially , they were given the $ 1.243 billion of financing for the Commercial Crew platform that they have been pushing so hard for . Administrator Charlie Boldenrecently evidence IFLSciencethat he numerate this – arrive SpaceX and Boeing ’s manned spacecraft up and run – as one of the key goals of his fourth dimension in government agency .
care you were here ? Congress has told NASA they must send a lander to the surface of Europa . NASA
Elsewhere , planetary science has received a boost in the form of $ 1.631 billion – $ 270 million above what the President requested . accord toThe Planetary Society , this " allows both the MER Opportunity roamer and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to continue scientific discipline operations . " The upcoming Mars 2020 bird of passage , meanwhile , get a $ 22 million boost .
The huge SLS , which Congress seems very neat to overfund , has been given $ 2 billion , $ 640 million above the $ 1.36 billion request by the President . The SLS , if you are n’t aware , will eventually be used to take humans to Mars with the Orion space vehicle , which has been pay an increase to $ 1.91 billion .
Of the areas to miss out on their call for levels of backing , one is the Earth Science Division , which received $ 1.921 billion – less than the President ’s request but $ 149 million more than last yr . Another is the Space Technology Mission Directorate ( STMD ) , which develop $ 686 million – $ 39 million less than requested , but $ 90 million more than last year .
The budget still needs to pass a vote in Congress this week , which seems probable at the here and now , although acontroversial surveillance billwas snuck in along with it . If it gets by this test , the White House will almost surely signal it into law .
Onto Europa , then .
