NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: At a Glance

Updated April 29, 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 FY2027 budget request, and recent congressional action on appropriations and authorizations of appropriations.

Table 1 shows the FY2021-FY2026 budget authority for NASA. 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 FY2023-FY2026. Amounts for FY2025 are derived from the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4), "An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14" (P.L. 119-21), and NASA's congressional budget justification for FY2027. 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), the explanatory statement for that act,¹ and NASA's congressional budget justification for FY2027. Congressional budget justifications are available on the NASA budget website, https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/, for FY2027 and for past years back to FY2010.

Table 2 compares FY2026 appropriations, as enacted, with the Administration's request for FY2027 and with FY2027 proposed authorizations as ordered to be reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (S. 933). For FY2026, this table reflects annual appropriations provided by P.L. 119-74; the budget authority for FY2026 includes additional, advance appropriations provided by P.L. 119-21, as described in Table 1. Additional columns will be added to this table should Congress take additional FY2027 authorization and appropriations actions for NASA.

Table 3 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); the FY2026 appropriations bill 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 ordered to be reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (H.R. 7273) and as ordered to be reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (S. 933).

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 providing direction for the use of appropriations; increasing, decreasing, or maintaining the agency's current budget as a whole; and eliminating, increasing, decreasing, or maintaining funding levels for specific accounts or subaccounts. As Congress deliberates, it may weigh the appropriations provided by the FY2025 reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21), as some of this funding will be included in the budget authority for future fiscal years. The NASA Authorization Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-167, Title VII), the most recently enacted authorization act for the agency, provided authorizations of appropriations through FY2023. Congress may provide direction and guidance for the agency as a whole and for specific accounts, subaccounts, or programs through NASA authorization bills in place of or in complement to direction regarding use of appropriations.

Table 1. NASA Budget Authority, FY2021-FY2026

(in $ millions)

	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	FY2026
Science	$7,291	$7,611	$7,792	$7,325	$7,332	$7,250
Earth Science	1,997	2,061	2,175	2,139	2,195	2,153
Planetary Science	2,693	3,120	3,217	2,764	2,728	2,541
Astrophysics	1,771	1,569	1,510	1,530	1,530	1,595
Heliophysics	751	778	805	805	792	875
Biological and Physical Sciences	79	83	85	88	88	86
Aeronautics	829	881	935	935	935	935
Space Technology	1,100	1,100	1,193	1,100	1,032	921
Exploration	6,397	6,855	7,448	7,648	7,736	10,628^a
Moon to Mars Transportation Systems	4,539	4,591	4,717	4,782	4,846	n/s^b
Orion	1,404	1,402	1,315	1,284	1,431	1,441
Space Launch System	2,555	2,600	2,567	2,600	2,502	2,333
Exploration Ground Systems	580	589	835	898	910	923
Moon to Mars Systems Development	1,672	2,008	2,631	2,772	2,803	n/s^c
Other^d	186	257	101	94	87	n/s
Space Operations	4,102	3,975^e	4,267^f	4,220	4,795^g	4,425^h
International Space Station	1,322	1,262	1,286	1,241	1,180	1,240
Space Transportation	1,872	1,717	1,760	1,746	2,430	n/s
Space and Flight Support	890	889	983	1,005	1,015	n/s
Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development	18	102	224	228	170	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	44	46
Other	12	14	14	14	16	14
Safety, Security, & Mission Services	2,937	3,021	3,137	3,131	3,061	3,000
Construction and EC&R	446	417	422	326	300	1,100ⁱ
Inspector General	44	45	48	48	48	47
Total	23,271	24,041	25,384	24,877	25,382^j	28,448^k

Sources: FY2021-FY2024 amounts are from NASA FY2023-FY2026 congressional budget justifications, available at https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/. FY2025 amounts are from P.L. 119-4, P.L. 119-21, NASA's FY2027 congressional budget justification, and NASA's FY2025 spending plan, available at https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2025-budget-request/. FY2026 amounts are from NASA's FY2027 congressional budget justification, P.L. 119-21, and P.L. 119-74 and its explanatory statement, Congressional Record, vol. 172, no. 5, Book II (January 8, 2026), pp. H263-H265.

Notes: In total, P.L. 119-21 provides about $10 billion in FY2025 appropriations for NASA (to remain available until the end of FY2032), although the act directs that some of the provided funding is to be used in future years. 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. This amount includes $784 million appropriated to the Exploration account by P.L. 119-74 without a specified purpose. The FY2026 budget authority for this account also includes $2.8 billion in FY2025 appropriations provided by P.L. 119-21. Of that amount, P.L. 119-21 and the NASA FY2027 congressional budget justification specify that in FY2026 the Moon to Mars Transportation System is to receive $20 million for Orion and $1 billion for the Space Launch System, and Moon to Mars Systems Development is to receive $1.8 billion ($1.1 billion for the Gateway and $700 million for a telecommunications orbiter for Mars).

b. The budget authority for Moon to Mars Transportation System is marked as "not specified," as P.L. 119-74 does not identify a total amount for this subaccount, although it does specify amounts for several items within this subaccount.

c. The budget authority for Moon to Mars Systems Development is marked as "not specified," as P.L. 119-74 does not identify a total amount for this subaccount, although it does specify amounts for several items within this subaccount. P.L. 119-21 and NASA's FY2027 congressional budget justification note that the FY2026 budget authority for this subaccount includes $1.8 billion provided by P.L. 119-21 ($1.1 billion for the Gateway and $700 million for a telecommunications orbiter for Mars).

d. "Other" refers to smaller subaccounts and programs within the Exploration account that have not remained consistent across previous year's budget requests or appropriating legislation.

e. This amount includes $5 million for "Exploration Operations," which is a line item within Space Operations included in NASA's budget requests for FY2023, FY2024, and FY2025.

f. This amount includes $14 million for "Exploration Operations," which is a line item within Space Operations included in NASA's budget requests for FY2023, FY2024, and FY2025

g. The FY2025 budget authority for this account includes $575 million in FY2025 appropriations provided by P.L. 119-21. Of that amount, P.L. 119-21 and the NASA FY2027 congressional budget justification specify that in FY2025 the International Space Station received $50 million and Space Transportation received $525 million. NASA, in its FY2027 budget request, identifies the accounts to which those activities correspond and where this funding was aligned.

h. This amount includes $2.6 billion appropriated to the Space Operations account by P.L. 119-74 without a specified purpose. The FY2026 budget authority for the Space Operations account includes $250 million in FY2025 appropriations provided by P.L. 119-21, as the act directs that some of the provided funding is to be used in future years. Per P.L. 119-21 and the NASA FY2027 congressional budget justification, the FY2026 budget authority for Space Operations is to include about $250 million of the funds provided by P.L. 119-21. Several of the subaccounts within Space Operation are marked as "not specified" within the table, as P.L. 119-4 does not specify funding levels. NASA, in its FY2027 budget request, does not specify the funding levels for these items from P.L. 119-21.

i. Per P.L. 119-21 and the NASA FY2027 congressional budget justification, the FY2026 budget authority for this account includes $915 million of the funds provided by P.L. 119-21.

j. NASA's total budget authority for FY2025 includes $575 million in appropriations provided by P.L. 119-21.

k. NASA's total budget authority for FY2026 includes about $4 billion in FY2025 appropriations provided by P.L. 119-21.

Table 2. NASA FY2026 Enacted Appropriations, FY2027 Requested Appropriations, and FY2027 Senate Committee-Proposed Authorizations

(in $ millions)

		FY2027 Appropriations	FY2027 Authorization
Account	FY2026 Enacted	Request	Senate Cmte.^a
Science	$7,250	$3,894	$7,483
Earth Science	2,153	1,021	n/s
Planetary Science	2,541	1,876	n/s
Astrophysics	1,595	552	n/s
Heliophysics	875	420	n/s
Biological and Physical Sciences	86	25	n/s
Aeronautics	935	610	974
Space Technology	921	624	999
Exploration	7,783	8,514	7,978
Moon to Mars Transportation Systems	n/s	4,219	n/s
Orion	1,421	1,222	n/s
Space Launch System	1,308	1,495	n/s
Exploration Ground Systems	923	758	n/s
Commercial Moon and Mars Infrastructure Development^b	n/s	744	n/s
Moon to Mars Systems Development	n/s	3,810	n/s
Human Exploration Requirements and Architecture	n/s	485	n/s
Space Operations	4,175	3,047	4,279
International Space Station	1,240	921	n/s
Space Transportation	n/s	1,153	n/s
Space and Flight Support	n/s	674	n/s
Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development	273	300	n/s
STEM Engagement	143	0	151
Space Grant	58	0	n/s
EPSCoR	26	0	n/s
MUREP	46	0	n/s
Other	14	0	n/s
Safety, Security, and Mission Services	3,000	2,000	3,185
Construction and EC&R	185	101	190
Inspector General	47	41	49
Total	24,438^b	18,829	25,287

Source: FY2026 enacted amounts are from P.L. 119-74 and its explanatory statement, Congressional Record, vol. 172, no. 5, Book II (January 8, 2026), pp. H263-H265. FY2027 requested amounts are from the NASA FY2027 congressional budget justification, https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/. FY2027 Senate Committee-proposed authorization, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, are from S. 933, as ordered reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and provided on the committee website, https://www.commerce.senate.gov/press/rep/release/commerce-committee-advances-nasa-reauthorization-act-and-weather-act/.

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.

a. S. 933 was ordered to be reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation but had not been reported as of April 28, 2026. The amounts provided in this table reflect the amended text and adopted amendments available on the committee website.

b. NASA's FY2026 budget authority includes an additional $4 billion in funding, provided as FY2025 appropriations through P.L. 119-21, as that act directs some of the provided funds are to be used in future fiscal years. These funds would be in addition to any funding provided through the annual appropriations process. For more information, see Table 1.

Table 3. NASA FY2025 Enacted Appropriations; FY2026 Requested, House and Senate Committee-Reported, and Enacted Appropriations; and House and Senate Committee-Proposed FY2026 Authorizations

(in $ millions)

		FY2026 Appropriations				FY2026 Auth.
	FY2025 Enacted	Request	House Cmte.	Senate Cmte.	Enacted	House Cmte.^a	Senate Cmte.^b
Science	$7,334	$3,908	$6,000	$7,300	$7,250	$7,250	$7,300
Earth Science	n/s	1,036	1,325	2,166	2,153	n/s	n/s
Planetary Science	n/s	1,891	2,500	2,552	2,541	n/s	n/s
Astrophysics	n/s	523	1,485	1,605	1,595	n/s	n/s
Heliophysics	n/s	433	625	887	875	n/s	n/s
Biological and Physical Sciences	n/s	25	65	90	86	n/s	n/s
Aeronautics	935	589	775	950	935	935	950
Space Technology	1,100	569	913	975	921	921	975
Exploration	15,086	8,313	9,716	7,783	7,783	7,783	7,783
Moon to Mars Transportation Systems	n/s	4,895	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Orion	n/s	1,371	1,370	1,421	1,421	n/s	n/s
Space Launch System	n/s	2,001	2,500	1,308	1,308	n/s	n/s
Exploration Ground Systems	n/s	658	n/s	867	923	n/s	n/s
Commercial Moon and Mars Infrastructure Development^c	n/a	864	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Moon to Mars Systems Development	n/s	2,815	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s	n/s
Human Exploration Requirements and Architecture	n/s	603	n/s	459	n/s	n/s	n/s
Space Operations	5,795	3,132	4,150	4,314	4,175	4,175	4,175
International Space Station	n/s	920	n/s	1,240	1,240	n/s	n/s
Space Transportation	n/s	1,294	n/s^d	1,816	n/s	n/s	n/s
Space and Flight Support	n/s	646	n/s	1,008	n/s	n/s	n/s
Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development	n/s	272	500	250	273	n/s	n/s
STEM Engagement	143	0	0	148	143	143	148
Space Grant	n/s	0	58^e	63	58	n/s	n/s
EPSCoR	n/s	0	26^e	26	26	n/s	n/s
MUREP	n/s	0	0	46	46	n/s	n/s
Other	n/s	0	0	14	14	n/s	n/s
Safety, Security, and Mission Services	3,092	2,118	3,044	3,107	3,000	3,000	3,107
Construction and EC&R	1,300	140	200	275	185	185	185
Inspector General	48	41	41	48	47	47	48
Total	34,833^f	18,809	24,838	24,900	24,438^g	24,438	24,671

Sources: FY2025 enacted amounts are from P.L. 119-4, P.L. 119-21, and NASA's FY2027 congressional budget justification, https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/. FY2026 requested amounts are from the FY2026 NASA congressional budget justification, https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/. FY2026 House Committee appropriations, as reported 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, vol. 172, no. 5, Book II (January 8, 2026), pp. H263-H265. FY2026 House Committee authorization levels are from H.R. 7273, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and available on the committee website, https://science.house.gov/2026/2/full-committee-markup-of-the. FY2026 Senate Committee authorization levels are from S. 933, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and available on the committee website, https://www.commerce.senate.gov/press/rep/release/commerce-committee-advances-nasa-reauthorization-act-and-weather-act/.

a. H.R. 7273 was ordered to be reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology but had not been reported as of April 28, 2026. The amended text and adopted amendments are available on the committee's website; the amounts provided in this table reflect the version available on the committee website.

b. S. 933 was ordered to be reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation but has not been reported as of April 28, 2026. The amended text and adopted amendments are available on the committee's website; the amounts provided in this table reflect the version available on the committee website.

c. The FY2026 request proposed creating the Commercial Moon and Mars Infrastructure and Transportation program, which the FY2026 request described as intending to include both a new program (the Commercial Mars Payload Services program) and the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which was then located within the Science Mission Directorate. Congress approved this transfer in the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 119-74.

d. With respect to Space Transportation, the report accompanying the draft FY2026 appropriations bill reported by the House Appropriations Committee 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.

e. The draft FY2026 appropriations bill ordered reported by the House Appropriations Committee proposed relocating NASA's EPSCoR and Space Grant programs into the agency's Safety, Security, and Mission Services account. Congress did not adopt this proposal.

f. NASA received a total of $34.833 billion in FY2025 appropriations; of that amount, P.L. 119-4 provided $24.838 billion, and P.L. 119-21 provided $9.995 billion. P.L. 119-4, Section 1101, provided FY2025 appropriations at FY2024 regular enacted levels for all accounts but 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, and 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.

g. NASA's FY2026 budget authority includes an additional $4 billion in funding, provided as FY2025 appropriations through P.L. 119-21, as that act directs some of the provided funds are to be used in future fiscal years. For more information, see Table 1.

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 and P.L. 119-21. Current dollars were deflated to FY2025 dollars using the gross domestic product (GDP) (chained) price index from the President's budget for FY2027, Historical Table 10.1, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-resources/budget/historical-tables/.

Notes: The transition quarter between FY1976 and FY1977 is not shown. Of the $9.995 billion provided by P.L. 119-21 for NASA as part of its FY2025 appropriations, $575 million is included in the budget authority for FY2025, and $4.01 billion is included in the budget authority for FY2026. The remaining $5.41 billion provided by P.L. 119-21 is to be included in the budget authority for future years and is therefore not included in this figure.

Footnotes

1.	See Congressional Record, vol. 172, no. 5, Book II (January 8, 2026), pp. H263-H265, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2026-01-08/pdf/CREC-2026-01-08-house-bk3.pdf.