Asteroid Redirect Mission

NASA proposes to spend $133 million in service of its Asteroid Redirect Mission concept. This is on the same scale as last year, and is divided throughout the agency. $20 million of this is included in continued funding for near-Earth object searches (in the Planetary Science Division), an unambiguously good investment to any thinking human being.

But the strange thing to me, at least, is that we still don't know how much this mission is going to cost. Update: Maybe we do? See my note below. How could NASA spend a year with ARM as its major initiative and still not know how much it's going to cost or what, exactly, the capture mission is going to look like? I ask this earnestly. Update: I still have not received a satisfactory answer to this question.

The projected five year budgets for NASA don't seem to increase to a level necessary to build an asteroid capture spacecraft, but we don't have the detailed breakdowns, so who knows. Update: I've been told that the cost *is* included in the budget projections, and should come in around $1.5 billion. Still no word on exactly where within NASA will pay for this. So I'm eager to delve into this when NASA releases its full budget request in a few days. The ARM's proposal last year led to some very mixed opinions in Congress and the scientific community, so I would have expected NASA to come out swinging with detailed mission plans or at least a clear direction. I didn't see either of those things.

Education

Last year, the White House proposed consolidating nearly all education and public outreach programs to external agencies. It's difficult to suss out exactly what's happening in this budget request, since we still don't have the detailed breakdown. There may be some consolidation, but internal to NASA. We'll have to wait for more information to be sure.

One thing we do know is that the budget for NASA's Education division is cut considerably, down to $89 million from the $116 million that Congress approved in 2014. I am reasonably confident that Congress will restore this number to some degree, if history is any guide.

The Other Stuff

Other major projects like the James Webb Space Telescope, the Space Launch System, Orion crew capsule, Commercial Crew, and the ISS continue on as planned; there is not much to say about the funding on any of these projects. Proponents of Commercial Crew may be able to make a stronger case for full-funding this year in light of the recent U.S.-Russian political breakdown.

Overall Impressions

I'm mixed. I'm happy that NASA is finally fighting for a small bump for its immensely popular and successful planetary exploration program, including the acknowledgement that Europa just might actually be a compelling destination, but it's the first small step of many that need to come. Our current golden age of planetary exploration is the result of funding decisions made over a decade ago. The decisions NASA and Congress (and you!) make now will impact us 5 - 10 years from now, when we may come to realize just how much we've lost. Even with these small steps, we're looking at a significant drop of active missions, from something like a dozen now to less than half of that in the 2020s. That is not a legacy I think anyone wants to have, particularly at the White House.

NASA's overall budget continues to get chipped away. Analysts were worried that a flat NASA budget at $17.7 billion would be difficult to maintain given NASA's commitments. Now we're over $200 million less than that. SOFIA is the most recent casualty of this slow decline.

But, as I said, many things are pointing in the right direction. The crucial part comes now, as the Society revs up its advocacy activities. Remember, this is just the budget request. Congress will now take the request as its starting point and add or subtract various items. We have a few months as this process moves forward, and NASA should be providing more information within a few days regarding exact program breakdowns.

But if you're disappointed about NASA's total budget, or the mothballing of SOFIA, or the slow-step towards Europa, don't just complain about it. Complain to your congressional representatives! It makes a difference.