Ledyard King

USATODAY

WASHINGTON — No more mission to bring astronauts to an asteroid, but stable funding for a trip to Mars. A cut in Earth science programs, but support for a mission to study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Elimination of education programs, but more resources to improve cybersecurity of the space program.

President Trump is proposing a $19.1 billion budget for NASA in 2018 that is about the same as the current year’s $19.3 billion allocation – not bad considering the president is proposing deep cuts in many non-Defense programs. EPA alone would see a 31% reduction.

But Trump’s vision for NASA calls for some dramatic shifts from the priorities the space agency pursued under President Obama, according to a broad budget outline the White House released Thursday. Line-item details on the administration’s proposed spending plan for NASA and other executive branch agencies are expected in the coming weeks.

“The budget increases cooperation with industry through the use of public-private partnerships, focuses on the nation’s efforts on deep space exploration rather than Earth-centric research, and develops technologies that would achieve U.S. space goals and benefit the economy,” the outline reads.

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The budget could change substantially after it runs through the congressional gauntlet. But it builds on two key priorities embraced by Obama and bipartisan leaders of Congress: sending astronauts to Mars by the 2030s and ceding more NASA-controlled activities in low-Earth orbit to commercial space companies.

What the Trump budget would not do is continue development of the Asteroid Redirect Mission, or ARM, that NASA has been pitching as a fruitful and relatively low-cost steppingstone to Mars. Many Republicans, who did not like how Obama scrapped a return to the moon under the Constellation program, never bought into the asteroid mission.

The two-page outline released Thursday makes no mention of the moon, which is still considered a costly venture because of the price tag of a lunar lander.

But expect Congress to revive a return because of the testing that could be done for a Mars mission, the commercial partnerships (such as mining) that could generate revenue and innovation, and the concern that other countries (read: China) are eyeing their own moon missions.

Highlights of the Trump budget outline include: