NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: At a Glance

Updated February 27, 2026 (R43419)

Overview and Considerations

Congressional deliberations about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) often focus on the availability of funding. This product provides data on past and current NASA appropriations, as well as the President's FY2026 budget request and congressional action on FY2026 appropriations and authorizations of appropriations.

Table 1 shows budget authority for NASA for FY2021-FY2026. Except where noted, the amounts shown include regular, supplemental, and additional appropriations; rescissions; transfers; and reprogramming. Amounts for FY2021-FY2024 are taken from NASA's congressional budget justifications for FY2022-FY2026. Amounts for FY2025 are derived from the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4) and "An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14" (P.L. 119-21). Amounts for FY2026 are derived from the Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-74), and the explanatory statement for that act, Congressional Record, January 8, 2026, pp. H263-H265. Congressional budget justifications are available on the NASA budget website, https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/, for FY2026 and for past years back to FY2010.

Table 2 compares FY2025 appropriations, as enacted, with the Administration's request for FY2026; the FY2026 appropriations bill as reported by the House Committee on Appropriations (H.R. 5342; H.Rept. 119-272); FY2026 appropriations as reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations (S. 2354; S.Rept. 119-44); FY2026 enacted appropriations per the Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-74); and FY2026 proposed authorizations as approved by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (H.R. 7273).

Table 3 shows FY2024 appropriations provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42), compared with FY2025 appropriations as enacted (P.L. 119-4, P.L. 119-21). It also shows the Administration's request for appropriations for FY2025; FY2025 appropriations as reported by the House Committee on Appropriations (H.R. 9026, H.Rept. 118-582); and FY2025 appropriations as reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations (S. 4795, S.Rept. 118-198). Further, Table 3 contains information on authorizations of appropriations. In particular, it provides FY2025 authorizations of appropriations as passed by the House (H.R. 8958) in the 118^th Congress and FY2025 authorizations of appropriations as introduced in the Senate (S. 933) in the 119^th Congress. Note that the NASA Authorization Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-167, Title VII), which is the most recently enacted authorization, did not provide authorizations of appropriations beyond FY2023.

Figure 1 shows NASA's total annual budget authority from the agency's establishment in FY1958 to FY2026, in both current dollars and inflation-adjusted FY2025 dollars.

As Congress considers future appropriations for NASA, options include increasing, decreasing, or maintaining the agency's current budget as a whole or for specific accounts or subaccounts. As Congress deliberates, it may weigh the appropriations provided by the FY2025 reconciliation act (P.L. 119-21), as some of this funding will be included in the budget authority for future fiscal years. Congressional options for NASA authorization bills include providing additional direction and guidance for the agency as a whole and for specific accounts, subaccounts, or programs beyond that typically included in appropriations laws and accompanying explanatory statements (which often include some direction but less than authorizations).

Table 1. NASA Appropriations, FY2021-FY2026

(in $ millions)

	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	FY2026^a
Science	$7,291	$7,611	$7,792	$7,334	$7,334	$7,250
Earth Science	1,997	2,061	2,175	2,195	n/s	2,153
Planetary Science	2,693	3,120	3,217	2,717	n/s	2,541
Astrophysics	1,356	1,394	1,510	1,530	n/s	1,595
James Webb Space Telescope	415	175	—^b	—^b	n/s	—^b
Heliophysics	751	778	805	805	n/s	875
Biological and Physical Sciences	79	83	85	88	n/s	86
Aeronautics	829	881	935	935	935	935
Space Technology	1,100	1,100	1,193	1,100	1,100	921
Exploration	6,397	6,855	7,448	7,666^c	7,666	7,783
Moon to Mars Transportation Systems^d	4,539	4,591	4,717	4,533	n/s	3,652
Orion	1,404	1,402	1,315	1,139	n/s	1,421
Space Launch System	2,555	2,600	2,567	2,600	n/s	1,308
Exploration Ground Systems	580	589	835	794	n/s	923
Moon to Mars Systems Development^e	1,858	2,077	2,631	n/s	n/s	2,911
Other	—	187	101	n/s	n/s
Space Operations	4,102	3,975	4,267	4,220^f	4,220	4,175
International Space Station	1,322	1,262	1,286	n/s	n/s	1,240
Space Transportation	1,872	1,717	1,760	n/s	n/s	n/s
Crew and Cargo Program	1,573	1,570	1,642	1,856	n/s	n/s
Space and Flight Support	890	889	983	n/s	n/s	n/s
Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development	18	102	224	228	n/s	273
STEM Engagement	127	137	144	143	143	143
Space Grant	51	55	58	58	58	58
EPSCoR	26	26	26	26	26	26
MUREP	38	43	46	46	n/s	45
Other	12	14	14	14	n/s	14
Safety, Security, & Mission Services	2,937	3,021	3,137	3,129	3,092	3,000
Construction and EC&R	446	417	612^g	300	300	185
Inspector General	44	45	48	48	48	47
Other	—	—	—	—	9,995^a	—
Total	23,271	24,041	25,573^g	24,875	34,833^h	24,438

Sources: FY2021-FY2024 amounts are from NASA FY2022-FY2026 congressional budget justifications, available at https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/. FY2025 amounts are from P.L. 119-4 and P.L. 119-21. FY2026 amounts are from P.L. 119-74 and its explanatory statement, Congressional Record, January 8, 2026, pp. H263-H265.

Notes: Except where noted, amounts include regular, supplemental, and additional appropriations; rescissions; transfers; and reprogramming. Figures may not sum to totals because of rounding. R&D = Research and Development; STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; EPSCoR = Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research; MUREP = Minority University Research and Education Program; EC&R = Environmental Compliance and Remediation; n/s = not specified.

a. P.L. 119-21 includes FY2025 appropriations for several NASA programs and activities. The law does not identify the corresponding account for all of the specified programs, and in some instances, the law includes specific direction that the appropriations may be applied only to a subset of activities in a program. For instance, the law provides $700 million for a "high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiter" and $4.1 billion for the Space Launch System for Artemis Missions IV and V. Therefore, this amount ($9.995 billion) is listed as "Other" in this table.

b. This amount is included in the Astrophysics account.

c. This amount includes $3.133 billion appropriated to the Exploration account by P.L. 118-42 without a specified purpose.

d. Prior to the FY2023 request, NASA referred to this program as "Exploration Systems Development." Starting with the FY2025 request, NASA renamed this program "Moon to Mars (M2M) Transportation Systems."

e. Prior to the FY2023 request, NASA referred to this program as "Exploration R&D." In the FY2025 request, NASA renamed this program "Moon to Mars (M2M) Lunar Systems Development." In the FY2026 request, NASA renamed this program "Moon to Mars (M2M) Systems Development."

f. This amount includes $2.136 billion appropriated to the Space Operations account by P.L. 118-42 without a specified purpose.

g. This amount includes $556.4 million in emergency supplemental funding provided in P.L. 117-328, Division N.

h. P.L. 119-4, Section 1101, provided FY2025 appropriations at FY2024 regular enacted levels unless otherwise specified. Accordingly, this table shows the enacted amounts for FY2025 as being the same as for FY2024 in P.L. 118-42, Division C, except for the Safety, Security, and Mission Services account, for which P.L. 119-4 specified $3.092 billion. P.L. 119-21 provided additional FY2025 appropriations for select NASA programs and activities, for a total of $9.995 billion. Funding provided by P.L. 119-21 is to remain available until the end of FY2032. The law, however, includes direction that portions of funding are to be obligated during certain fiscal years. For instance, the law provides $1.25 billion for operation of the International Space Station, with not less than $250 million to be obligated in FY2025, FY2026, FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029. As a result, some amounts provided by P.L. 119-21 may fall under the budget authority for future fiscal years.

Table 2. NASA Appropriations, FY2025 and FY2026, and Proposed FY2026 Authorization

(in $ millions)

		FY2026 Appropriations				FY2026 Auth.
	FY2025 Enacted	Request	House Cmte.	Senate Cmte.	Enacted	House Cmte.^a
Science	$7,334	$3,908	$6,000	$7,300	$7,250	$7,250
Earth Science	n/s	1,036	1,325	2,166	2,153	n/s
Planetary Science	n/s	1,891	2,500	2,552	2,541	n/s
Astrophysics	n/s	523	1,485	1,605	1,595	n/s
Heliophysics	n/s	433	625	887	875	n/s
Biological and Physical Sciences	n/s	25	65	90	86	n/s
Aeronautics	935	589	775	950	935	935
Space Technology	1,100	569	913	975	921	921
Exploration/Deep Space Exploration Systems	7,666	8,313	9,716	7,783	7,783	7,783
Moon to Mars Transportation Systems^b	n/s	4,895	n/s	n/s	3,652	n/s
Orion	n/s	1,371	1,370	1,421	1,421	n/s
Space Launch System	n/s	2,001	2,500	1,308	1,308	n/s
Exploration Ground Systems	n/s	658	n/s	867	923	n/s
Commercial Moon and Mars Infrastructure Development^c	n/a	864	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Moon to Mars Systems Development^d	n/s	2,815	n/s	n/s	2,911	n/s
Human Exploration Requirements and Architecture	n/s	603	n/s	459	n/s	n/s
Space Operations	4,220	3,132	4,150	4,314	4,175	4,175
International Space Station	n/s	920	n/s	1,240	1,240	n/s
Space Transportation	n/s	1,294	n/s^e	1,816	n/s	n/s
Space and Flight Support	n/s	646	n/s	1,008	n/s	n/s
Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development	n/s	272	500	250	273	n/s
STEM Engagement	143	0	0	148	143	143
Space Grant	n/s	0	58^f	63	58	n/s
EPSCoR	n/s	0	26^f	26	26	n/s
MUREP	n/s	0	0	46	45	n/s
Other	n/s	0	0	14	14	n/s
Safety, Security, and Mission Services	3,092	2,118	3,044	3,107	3,000	3,000
Construction and EC&R	300	140	200	275	185	185
Inspector General	48	41	41	48	47	47
Other	9,995^g	—	—	—	—	—
Total	34,833^h	18,809	24,838	24,900	24,438	24,438

Sources: FY2025 enacted amounts are from P.L. 119-4 and P.L. 119-21. FY2026 requested amounts are from the FY2026 NASA congressional budget justification, https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/. FY2026 House Committee appropriations, as approved by the House Committee on Appropriations, are from H.R. 5342 and H.Rept. 119-272. FY2026 Senate committee appropriations, as reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, are from S. 2354 and S.Rept. 119-44. FY2026 enacted appropriations are from P.L. 119-74 and its explanatory statement, Congressional Record, January 8, 2026, pp. H263-H265.

Notes: Figures may not sum to totals because of rounding. STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; EPSCoR = Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research; MUREP = Minority University Research and Education Program; EC&R = Environmental Compliance and Remediation; n/s = not specified; n/a = not applicable, as the program had not yet been proposed. Additional columns will be added for FY2026 as Congress acts on FY2026 appropriations legislation.

a. H.R. 7273 was ordered to be reported but had not been reported as of February 26, 2026. While the official reported text of H.R. 7273 is not yet available, the amendments adopted during the markup did not appear to change the introduced bill provisions regarding FY2026 authorization amounts.

b. Prior to the FY2023 request, NASA referred to this program as "Exploration Systems Development." Starting with the FY2025 request, NASA renamed this program "Moon to Mars (M2M) Transportation Systems."

c. The FY2026 request proposes creating a Commercial Moon and Mars Infrastructure Development program, which would, if enacted, include both a new program (the Commercial Mars Payload Services program) and some activities currently within the Science Mission Directorate (such as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program). In addressing the new activities, the FY2026 request states that NASA "will continue to define the content of this new program and will brief Congress as soon as appropriate."

d. Prior to the FY2023 request, NASA referred to this program as "Exploration R&D." In the FY2025 request, NASA renamed this program "Moon to Mars (M2M) Lunar Systems Development." In the FY2026 request, NASA renamed this program "Moon to Mars (M2M) Systems Development."

e. With respect to Space Transportation, the report accompanying the draft FY2026 appropriations bill approved by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies would provide the two major programs within this account (Crew and Cargo, and Commercial Crew) with "no less than the fiscal year 2025 enacted level for both programs." FY2025 enacted appropriations (P.L. 119-4 and P.L. 119-21) do not specify funding levels for these programs.

f. The draft FY2026 appropriations bill approved by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies proposed relocating NASA's EPSCoR and Space Grant programs into the agency's Safety, Security, and Mission Services account.

g. P.L. 119-21 includes FY2025 appropriations for several NASA programs and activities. The law does not identify the corresponding account for all of the specified programs, and in some instances, the law includes specific direction that the appropriations may be applied only to a subset of activities in a program. For instance, the law provides $700 million for a "high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiter" and $4.1 billion for the Space Launch System for Artemis Missions IV and V. Therefore, this amount ($9.995 billion) is listed as "Other" in this table.

h. P.L. 119-4, Section 1101, provided FY2025 appropriations at FY2024 regular enacted levels unless otherwise specified. Accordingly, this table shows the enacted amounts for FY2025 as being the same as for FY2024 in P.L. 118-42, Division C, except for the Safety, Security, and Mission Services account, for which P.L. 119-4 specified $3.092 billion. P.L. 119-21 provided additional FY2025 appropriations for select NASA programs and activities, for a total of $9.995 billion. Funding provided by P.L. 119-21 is to remain available until the end of FY2032. The law, however, also includes direction that portions of funding are to be obligated during certain fiscal years. For instance, the law provides $1.25 billion for operation of the International Space Station, with not less than $250 million to be obligated in FY2025, FY2026, FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029. As a result, some amounts provided by P.L. 119-21 may fall under the budget authority for future fiscal years.

Table 3. FY2024 and FY2025 Enacted NASA Appropriations and Action on FY2025 NASA Authorizations of Appropriations

(in $ millions)

		FY2025 Appropriations					FY2025 Auth.
	FY2024 Enacted	Request	House Cmte.	Senate Cmte.	Enacted	Enacted Additional	House Passed	Senate Intro.
Science	$7,334	$7,566	$7,334	$7,576	$7,334	n/a	$7,334	$7,576
Earth Science	2,195	2,379	2,000	2,369	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Planetary Science	2,717	2,732	2,930	2,722	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Astrophysics	1,530	1,578	1,532	1,583	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Heliophysics	805	787	787	812	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Biological and Physical Sciences	88	91	85	91	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Aeronautics	935	966	966	966	935	n/a	966	966
Space Technology	1,100	1,182	1,182	1,182	1,100	n/a	1,182	1,182
Exploration/Deep Space Exploration Systems	7,666	7,618	7,618	7,648	7,666	n/a	7,618	7,648
Moon to Mars Transportation System^a	4,533	4,213	4,738	4,213	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Orion	1,139	1,031	1,339	1,031	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Space Launch System	2,600	2,423	2,600	2,423	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Exploration Ground Systems	794	759	799	759	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Moon to Mars Systems Development^a	n/s	3,288	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Human Exploration Requirements and Architecture	n/s	117	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Space Operations	4,220	4,390	4,474	4,400	4,220	n/a	4,474	4,474
International Space Station	n/s	1,270	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Space Transportation	n/s	1,862	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Crew and Cargo Program	1,856	1,762	1,890	n/s	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Space and Flight Support	n/s	1,088	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development	228	170	n/s	170	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
STEM Engagement	143	144	89	144	143	n/a	135	144
Space Grant	58	57	60	59	58	n/a	n/s	n/s
EPSCoR	26	25	29	26	26	n/a	n/s	n/s
MUREP	46	46	0	46	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Other	14	15	0	14	n/s	n/a	n/s	n/s
Safety, Security, and Mission Services	3,129	3,044	3,044	3,044	3,092	n/a	3,044	3,044
Construction and EC&R	300	424	424	424	300	n/a	424	424
Inspector General	48	51	48	51	48	n/a	48	51
Other	—	—	—	—	—	9,995^b	—	—
Total	24,875	25,384	25,179	25,434	24,838	9,995^b	25,225	25,508

Sources: FY2024 enacted amounts are from P.L. 118-42 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, March 5, 2024, pp. S1141-S1142. FY2025 requested amounts are from the FY2025 NASA congressional budget justification, available at https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/. FY2025 House appropriations, as reported by the House Committee on Appropriations, are from H.R. 9026 and H.Rept. 118-582. FY2025 Senate appropriations, as reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, are from S. 4795 and S.Rept. 118-198. FY2025 enacted amounts are from P.L. 119-4. Enacted additional amounts are from P.L. 119-21. FY2025 House-passed amounts are from the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (H.R. 8958), 118^th Congress. FY2025 Senate-introduced amounts are from the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025 (S. 933), 119^th Congress, as introduced.

Notes: Figures may not sum to totals because of rounding. Intro. = Introduced; STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; EPSCoR = Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research; MUREP = Minority University Research and Education Program; EC&R = Environmental Compliance and Remediation; n/s = not specified; n/a = not applicable.

a. Prior to the FY2023 request, NASA referred to this program as "Exploration Systems Development." Starting with the FY2025 request, NASA renamed this program "Moon to Mars (M2M) Transportation Systems."

b. Prior to the FY2023 request, NASA referred to this program as "Exploration R&D." In the FY2025 request, NASA renamed this program "Moon to Mars (M2M) Lunar Systems Development." In the FY2026 request, NASA renamed this program "Moon to Mars (M2M) Systems Development."

c. P.L. 119-21 includes FY2025 appropriations for several NASA programs and activities. The law does not identify the corresponding account for all of the specified programs, and in some instances, the law includes specific direction that the appropriations may be applied only to a subset of activities in a program. For instance, the law provides $700 million for a "high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiter" and $4.1 billion for the Space Launch System for Artemis Missions IV and V. Therefore, this amount ($9.995 billion) is listed as "Other" in this table. Funding provided by P.L. 119-21 is to remain available until the end of FY2032. The law, however, includes direction that portions of funding are to be obligated during certain fiscal years. For instance, the law provides $1.25 billion for operation of the International Space Station, with not less than $250 million to be obligated in FY2025, FY2026, FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029. As a result, some amounts provided by P.L. 119-21 may fall under the budget authority for future fiscal years.

Figure 1. NASA Funding, FY1958-FY2026

(current and constant $)

Sources: Compiled by CRS. FY1958-FY2008 amounts are from NASA, Aeronautics and Space Report of the President: Fiscal Year 2008 Activities, Table D-1A, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20110012306. FY2009-FY2024 amounts are from NASA congressional budget justifications, available at https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/. FY2025 amounts are from P.L. 119-4 and P.L. 119-21. FY2026 amounts are from P.L. 119-74. Current dollars were deflated to FY2025 dollars using the gross domestic product (GDP) (chained) price index from the President's budget for FY2025, Historical Table 10.1, https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BUDGET-2025-TAB/context.

Note: The transition quarter between FY1976 and FY1977 is not shown.