The FY 2020 budget proposal tries a second time to make several cuts that Congress previously rejected out of hand. Most relevant to The Planetary Society is the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), which received $312 million from Congress in 2019. WFIRST has strong supporters, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) whose state received a sizeable NASA contract to work on the space telescope. The Planetary Society supports this mission, which is the top decadal recommendation and has potential to provide new insights into exoplanetary research.

The administration also repeated its proposal to completely defund NASA's Education/STEM outreach division, which includes the very popular Space Grant program. Space Grant provides small funding opportunities to students and educators in all 50 states and additional U.S. territories. Attempting to defund Space Grant is quixotic. If there's anything close to a sure bet left in politics, it's the continuation of this popular program.

These proposed cuts are frustrating, though I do believe Congress is likely to push back. The Planetary Society considers it particularly important that the U.S. continue to increase NASA's budget to enable initiatives in human spaceflight; progress toward Mars Sample Return; and retain strong science funding for Earth science, astrophysics, and educational outreach. That's all possible. Congress has increased NASA's budget by an average of 4% per year since 2014. The Planetary Society urges an increase of 5% for 2020. That would represent a strong start for the coming decade, a decade that holds the potential for breathtaking exploration and discovery.

These are the highlights. More information will be coming out next week from the Administration, and we'll respond with analysis. Visit our new NASA FY 2020 budget page to follow all of our coverage, analysis, and details for this budget.