NASA hopes for a little cashShortly after the deficit reduction bill went into effect this week, it could erode space agency budgets next year.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act, signed on June 3, suspends the debt ceiling by limiting government spending in 2024 to the same level as in 2023. This is a problem for NASA. requested $27.2 billion in the 2024 budgetFrom 2023, it will increase by 7%.
“We have to face the reality of the debt ceiling deal and what happens to the 2024 budget request,” NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy told a joint meeting of the Aerospace Engineering Board and Space Research Board on Wednesday. said. National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, SpacePolicyOnline.com report.
“We recognize that it is unlikely that we will accept all requests, and we understand that it will pose challenges for us in the future,” she added. “So I think we have to make some tough decisions this year.”
Space agencies are already struggling to manage their budgets, with a focus on: Return of mankind to the moon As part of the Artemis program and as an ambitious project Mars sample return mission. Both of these projects are bleeding profusely. Recent reports indicate that the Space Launch System rocket for NASA’s Artemis mission The space agency’s expenses increased by $6 billion over its original budget. NASA’s Meanwhile, the quest to bring back rock samples from Mars We need another $250 million Add an additional $250 million to the current fiscal year in 2024 to stay on track for a 2028 launch.
Before the Spending Control Act went into effect, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said: It described the foreseeable impact of the bill as a “disaster.” NASA has already had to make some cuts in drafting its initial budget request for 2024, including the Geospace Dynamics Constellation, a constellation of satellites designed to study the Earth’s upper atmosphere. is to suspend the work of Other missions have also been affected as a result of budget concerns, including: NASA’s VERITAS mission to Venus, It has been postponed indefinitely.
“I think this shows that there are priorities, there are agency priorities, there are national priorities … maintaining U.S. dominance in Earth sciences and driving Mars sample returns. Those were the higher priorities,” said Nicola Fox, NASA’s deputy director for science, reportedly during the meeting. “Budgets are limited, so it’s easy to focus on things that aren’t within your budget, but some of them are really good.”
It’s not yet entirely clear how the new law will affect space agency budgets, but NASA is about to land on the moon and bring back the first-ever sample from another planet. prepared for.
“I think it’s fair to say it’s stressful,” Pamela Whitney, Minority Staff Director of the House Science Committee’s Space Subcommittee, reportedly told a meeting Wednesday. space news. “This is going to be a big deal.”
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