John Paul M. Joaquin Science 03.29.2022 01:Mar AM EDT

NASA Plans Look Promising With $26 Billion Budget Proposal — $7.5 Will Go to Artemis

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) may be getting quite the budget in the future.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recently mentioned that the Biden Administration requested that Congress gives the Administration $26 billion in 2023, the largest request for science in the space agency's history, per CNN.

The Biden Administration submitted the request to Congress as part of President Biden's proposed budget for the fiscal year 2023.

NASA $26 Million Budget Details

A CBS report included a breakdown of NASA's future budget, which is $2.7 billion more than the space agency received in 2021. According to the breakdown, $7.5 million will be used for the Artemis Moon Program, which will see American astronauts land on the moon's surface again and establish an orbital base from which to execute future deep space missions.

With this amount, the Artemis Moon Program will receive the lion's share of the budget as it will help keep the mission on track for a lunar landing as early as 2025.

Meanwhile, $1.5 billion will be for the development of three new Human Landing System moon landers through NASA's partner in the Artemis program, SpaceX.

These three initial Human Landing System moon landers are made up of one unpiloted lander and two astronaut-carrying landers.

NASA previously awarded Elon Musk's SpaceX with the Administration's landing award due to it believing that SpaceX can deliver "an ambitious spacecraft design, one that is far larger and more capable than what NASA actually needs," according to the New York Times.

Additionally, the requested budget includes $1.042 billion for the operations of the International Space Station, which also serves as an acknowledgment for a mission extension through 2030. NASA will also have $1.642 billion for commercial crew spacecraft SpaceX and Boeing are building and the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon and Northrop Grumman cargo ships for supply and equipment deliveries.

The budget also covers the cost of Earth System Observatory satellites to study the impact of climate change and the development of a robotic moon rover to investigate the presumed ice deposits in the moon's south pole, which cost $2.4 billion and $480 million, respectively.

Lastly, the proposed budget includes $822 million for the development of a Mars Sample Return mission to bring Perseverance's Martian rock samples back to Earth. It also includes $482 million for the development of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and $184 million for a new spacecraft to study the Big Bang's immediate aftermath.

What the Budget Increase Means for NASA

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that the President's budget request represents "the administration's confidence in the extraordinary workforce that makes NASA the best place to work in the federal government."

"It's an investment in the business and universities that partner with NASA in all 50 states and the good-paying jobs they are creating," Nelson said. "It is a signal of support for our missions in a new era of exploration and discovery."