NASA wants a budget of $ 24.8 billion for 2022
NASA will ask Biden administration for money for the 2022 fiscal budget. The Space Agency released the demand for physical year budget 2022 on the 28th, requesting $ 24.8 billion to support new and existing missions. The demand for new budgets represents more than $ 1.5 billion more than the agency received in the Fiscal Year 2021.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that the President’s budget request was “recognition” that the NASA mission contributed to the purpose of Biden Administration for America. Nelson noted that the requested money, $ 7.93 billion was for the NASA science program and was the most money for that type of mission. NASA said the record funding in the Science area would help overcome the climate crisis and advanced robot mission which paved the way for astronauts to explore Mars and months in the future.
The budget also displays a request for an increase of $ 250 million for the Earth Science program, including $ 137.8 million to start working on a series of missions known as the Earth System Observatory. The missions will launch between 2027 and 2030. Large increase in funding for planetary science programs up to a total of $ 3.2 billion in total for 2022 included in the budget. That number represents more than $ 500 million than given to fiscal 2020.
One mission doesn’t get more money. NASA proposed to cancel the stratospheric observatory for the infrared astronomer program (Sofia). This is a modified Boeing 747 equipped with a 2.5 meter telescope that will make observations on water vapor that absorb infrared in the lower atmosphere. NASA said that the high cost to operate a program of around $ 85 million per year would not be justified by the science it produced.
The new budget also proposes a five percent increase in exploration programs to $ 6.88 billion. Funding will remain flat for Orion, space launch system, and exploration system program, but funds for research and development will increase more than 20 percent to around $ 2.4 billion.