How is NASA’s budget made? See how much the Space Agency plans to spend in 2024

Each year, the White House sends a proposal to the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to define the budget process. At the end of the process, the US president approves and signs the legislation Budget of different programs run by the space agency, from financing manned flights to the development of new technologies.

Although considered one of the most successful space programs in the world, NASA’s highest budget receipt was during the Apollo program in the 1960s; This took place around the same time that the first astronaut set foot on the moon. Since then, the amount of money allocated to the agency has decreased significantly; right now, the value can range from 1% to 0.4% of all spending in the country.

According to a document published by NASA, The White House’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024 is US$27.2 billion (about R$140.5 billion at current prices). Unfortunately for the space agency, the North American Congress opposed the proposed value; It hasn’t been decided yet how much money will be allocated to the agency next year. The amount allocated to NASA in 2023 was 33 billion US dollars.

“The Biden-Harris administration announced the president’s fiscal year 2024 budget on Thursday, which will allow NASA to continue exploring the secrets of the universe for the benefit of everyone through Artemis, the Mars Sample Return mission and other efforts. “The budget allows NASA to monitor and protect the planet, promote sustainable aviation, better support orbital debris management, develop innovative new technologies, and inspire the Artemis Belt.”

NASA’s 2024 Budget

About $8.1 billion of the proposed amount for next year will be allocated to NASA’s new Moon mission, which aims to make the natural satellite a base for missions to Mars. Almost $1 billion will be used for the Mars Sample mission, which will return rock and soil samples from the red planet. The other $2.5 billion goes to the Earth Sciences budget, such as the Earth System Observatory.

Each year in February, the White House sends a budget proposal to Congress for approval or disapproval. In addition to paying for projects, NASA also pays the salaries of approximately 17 thousand direct and outsourced employees; In 2021, the agency spent 73.5% of the budget on: It makes contracts with approximately five thousand companies, NGOs and educational institutions, including SpaceX, Lockheed-Martin and Boeing.

“The budget details the plan to grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out. At NASA, we support good-paying American jobs, spark imaginations, and encourage the world to look skyward and consider our place in the universe,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in an official statement.

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