NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: Fact Sheet

NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: Fact Sheet

NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: Fact Sheet

Updated September 26, 2024

Congressional Research Service

https://crsreports.congress.gov

R43419

NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: Fact Sheet

Congressional Research Service 1

Overview

Congressional deliberations about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) often focus on the availability of funding. This fact sheet provides data on past and current NASA appropriations, as well as the President’s FY2025 budget request and congressional action on FY2025 appropriations and authorization of appropriations.

Table 1 shows budget authority for NASA for FY2019-FY2024. Except where noted, the amounts shown include regular appropriations, supplemental appropriations, rescissions, transfers, and reprogramming. They are taken from NASA’s congressional budget justifications for FY2021-FY2025;¹ the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42); and the explanatory statement for that act, Congressional Record, March 5, 2024, pp. S1141-S1142. Congressional budget justifications are available on the NASA budget website, https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/, for the current year and for past years back to FY2010.

Table 2 shows FY2024 appropriations provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42), compared with FY2023 regular appropriations as enacted; the Administration’s request for FY2024; FY2024 appropriations as recommended in the bill introduced by the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (H.R. 5893 as introduced and explanatory material on the committee website at https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY24-CJS- Explanatory-Materials.pdf); and FY2024 appropriations recommended by the Senate Committee on Appropriations (S. 2321 as reported and S.Rept. 118-62). Note that the NASA Authorization Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-167, Title VII), which is the most recently enacted authorization, did not include authorizations of appropriations for NASA for FY2024 and beyond.

Table 3 compares FY2024 regular appropriations, as enacted, with the Administration’s request for FY2025; FY2025 appropriations as recommended by the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (H.R. 9026 as reported and H.Rept. 118-582); FY2025 appropriations as recommended by the Senate Committee on Appropriations (S. 2321 as reported and S.Rept. 118-62); and the FY2025 amounts that would be authorized by H.R. 8958, referred to herein as the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2024, as engrossed in the House on September 23, 2024. Additional columns will be added to this table as Congress acts to complete FY2025 authorization and appropriations legislation for NASA.

A note on name changes: Since the FY2019 budget request, the Trump and Biden Administrations have proposed renaming the Exploration account as “Deep Space Exploration Systems”; enacted appropriations have so far retained the name Exploration. Starting with the FY2023 budget, NASA renamed Exploration Systems Development as “Common Exploration Systems Development,” and Exploration Research and Development (R&D) as “Artemis Campaign Development.” In the FY2025 budget request, NASA renamed Common Exploration Systems Development as “Moon to Mars Transportation System,” and Artemis Campaign Development as “Moon to Mars Lunar Systems Development.”

Figure 1 shows NASA’s total annual budget authority from the agency’s establishment in FY1958 to FY2024, in both current dollars and inflation-adjusted FY2024 dollars.

1 FY2019 STEM Engagement amounts are not shown in the FY2021 congressional budget justification and are instead taken from the explanatory statement for the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-93), Congressional Record, December 17, 2019, pp. H10969-H10971.

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Table 1. NASA Budget Authority, FY2019-FY2024

(in $ millions)

FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024

Science $6,887 $7,143a $7,291 $7,611 $7,792 $7,334

Earth Science 1,931 1,972 1,997 2,061 2,175 2,195

Planetary Science 2,747 2,713 2,693 3,120 3,217 2,717

Astrophysics 1,191 1,306 1,356 1,394 1,510 1,530

James Webb Space Telescope 305 423 415 175 —b —b

Heliophysics 713 725 751 778 805 805

Biological and Physical Sciencesc — 5 79 83 85 88

Aeronautics 725 784 829 881 935 935

Space Technology 927 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,193 1,100

Exploration 5,045 5,960 6,397 6,855 7,448 7,666d

Exploration Systems Development 4,087 4,513 4,539 4,591 4,717 4,533

Orion 1,350 1,407 1,404 1,402 1,315 1,139

Space Launch System 2,144 2,528 2,555 2,600 2,567 2,600

Exploration Ground Systems 593 578 580 589 835 794

Exploration R&D/Artemis Campaign Development

958 1,447 1,858 2,077 2,631 n/s

Other — — — 187

101 n/s

Space Operations 4,640 4,135 4,102 3,975 4,267 4,220e

International Space Station 1,490 1,516 1,322 1,262 1,286 n/s

Space Transportation 2,110 1,746 1,872 1,717 1,760 n/s

Crew and Cargo Program 1,896 1,511 1,573 1,570 1,642 1,856

Space and Flight Support 1,000 857 890 889 983 n/s

Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development 40 15 18 102 224 228

Exploration Operations — — — 5 13 n/s

STEM Engagement 110 120 127 137 144 143

Space Grant 44 48 51 55 58 58

EPSCoR 21 24 26 26 26 26

MUREP 33 36 38 43 46 46

Other 12 12 12 14 14 14

Safety, Security, & Mission Services 2,755 2,913f 2,937 3,021 3,137 3,129

Construction and EC&R 372 433 446 417 612g 300

Inspector General 39 42 44 45 48 48

Total 21,500 22,629a,f 23,271 24,041 25,573g 24,875

Sources: FY2019-FY2023 from NASA FY2021-FY2025 congressional budget justifications. FY2024 from P.L. 118-42 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, March 5, 2024, pp. S1141-S1142. Notes: Except where noted, amounts include regular appropriations, supplemental 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. Not adjusted to reflect rescission of $70 million from prior year unobligated balances (Section 521(c)).

b. Included in Astrophysics.

c. Included in International Space Station before FY2020.

d. Includes $3.133 billion appropriated to the Exploration account by P.L. 118-42 without specified purpose.

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e. Includes $2.136 billion appropriated to the Space Operations account by P.L. 118-42 without specified purpose.

f. Does not include additional $60 million appropriated by the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136).

g. Includes $556.4 million in emergency supplemental funding provided in Division N of P.L. 117-328.

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Table 2. NASA Appropriations, FY2024

(budget authority in $ millions)

FY2024 Appropriations

FY2023

Enacted Request

House

Intro.

Senate

Cmte. Enacted

Science $7,795 $8,261 $7,380 $7,341 $7,334

Earth Science 2,195 2,473 2,000 2,219 2,195

Planetary Science 3,200 3,383 3,100 2,683 2,717

Astrophysics 1,510 1,557 1,485 1,544 1,530

Heliophysics 805 751 710 805 805

Biological and Physical Sciences 85 97 85 90 88

Aeronautics 935 996 946 935 935

Space Technology 1,200 1,392 1,205 1,118 1,100

Exploration/Deep Space Exploration Systems 7,469 7,971 7,971 7,736 7,666

Common Exploration Systems Development 4,738 4,525 4,525 4,525 4,533

Orion 1,339 1,225 1,225 1,225 1,139

Space Launch System 2,600 2,506 2,506 2,506 2,600

Exploration Ground Systems 799 794 794 794 794

Artemis Campaign Development 2,600 3,235 3,235 n/s n/s

Human Exploration Requirements and Architecture n/s 49 n/s n/s n/s

Mars Campaign Development n/s 162 n/s n/s n/s

Space Operations 4,250 4,535 4,345 4,200 4,220

International Space Station n/s 1,303 n/s n/s n/s

Space Transportation n/s 1,957 n/s n/s n/s

Crew and Cargo Program n/s 1,856 n/s 1,856 1,856

Space and Flight Support n/s 1,047 n/s n/s n/s

Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development 224 228 n/s 228 228

STEM Engagement 144 158 89 144 143

Space Grant 58 58 60 58 58

EPSCoR 26 26 29 26 26

MUREP 46 48 0 46 46

Other 14 26 0 14 14

Safety, Security, and Mission Services 3,129 3,369 3,136 3,100 3,129

Construction and EC&R 604a 454 248 379 300

Inspector General 48 50 48 48 48

Total 25,573a 27,185 25,367 25,000 24,875

Sources: FY2023 Enacted: P.L. 117-328 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, December 20, 2022, pp. S7945-S7950. FY2024 Request: FY2024 NASA congressional budget justification. FY2024 House Introduced: H.R. 5893 as introduced and explanatory material on the House Appropriations Committee website at https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY24-CJS-Explanatory- Materials.pdf. FY2024 Senate Committee: S. 2321 as reported and S.Rept. 118-62. FY2024 Enacted: P.L. 118-42 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, March 5, 2024, pp. S1141-S1142. Notes: Figures may not sum to totals due to 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. Includes $556.4 million in emergency supplemental funding provided in Division N of P.L. 117-328.

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Table 3. NASA Appropriations, FY2025, and Proposed FY2025 Authorization

(budget authority in $ millions)

FY2025 Appropriations

FY2025

Auth.

FY2024

Enacted Request

House Cmte.

Senate

Cmte. Enacted House

Science $7,334 $7,566 $7,334 $7,576 $7,334

Earth Science 2,195 2,379 2,000 2,369 n/s

Planetary Science 2,717 2,732 2,930 2,722 n/s

Astrophysics 1,530 1,578 1,532 1,583 n/s

Heliophysics 805 787 787 812 n/s

Biological and Physical Sciences 88 91 85 91 n/s

Aeronautics 935 966 966 966 966

Space Technology 1,100 1,182 1,182 1,182 1,182

Exploration/Deep Space Exploration Systems 7,666 7,618 7,618 7,648 7,618

Common Exploration Systems Developmenta 4,533 4,213 4,738 4,213 n/s

Orion 1,139 1,031 1,339 1,031 n/s

Space Launch System 2,600 2,423 2,600 2,423 n/s

Exploration Ground Systems 794 759 799 759 n/s

Artemis Campaign Developmentb n/s 3,288 n/s n/s n/s

Human Exploration Requirements and Architecture n/s 117 n/s n/s n/s

Mars Campaign Developmentc n/s — n/s n/s n/s

Space Operations 4,220 4,390 4,474 4,400 4,474

International Space Station n/s 1,270 n/s n/s n/s

Space Transportation n/s 1,862 n/s n/s n/s

Crew and Cargo Program 1,856 1,762 1,890 n/s n/s

Space and Flight Support n/s 1,088 n/s n/s n/s

Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development 228 170 n/s 170 n/s

STEM Engagement 143 144 89 144 135

Space Grant 58 57 60 59 n/s

EPSCoR 26 25 29 26 n/s

MUREP 46 46 0 46 n/s

Other 14 15 0 14 n/s

Safety, Security, and Mission Services 3,129 3,044 3,044 3,044 3,044

Construction and EC&R 300 424 424 424 424

Inspector General 48 51 48 51 48

Total 24,875 25,384 25,179 25,245 25,225

Sources: FY2024 Enacted: P.L. 118-42 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, March 5, 2024, pp. S1141-S1142. FY2025 Request: FY2025 NASA congressional budget justification. FY2025 House: appropriations recommended by the House Appropriations Committee (H.R. 9026 as reported and H.Rept. 118-582). FY2025 Senate: appropriations recommended by the Senate Appropriations Committee (S. 4795 as reported and S.Rept. 118-198). FY2025 House Authorization: NASA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (H.R. 8958), as engrossed in the House. 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.

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a. Referred to in the FY2025 request as “Moon to Mars Transportation System.”

b. Referred to in the FY2025 request as “Moon to Mars Lunar Systems Development.”

c. As noted in the FY2025 request, NASA intends to retire its Mars Campaign Development theme and will reallocate its content elsewhere in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (p. DEXP-69).

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Figure 1. NASA Funding, FY1958-FY2024

Sources: Compiled by CRS. FY1958-FY2008 from NASA, Aeronautics and Space Report of the President: Fiscal Year 2008 Activities, Table D-1A, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20110012306. FY2009-FY2023 from NASA congressional budget justifications. FY2011-FY2025, adjusted for supplemental appropriations, rescissions, and sequestration not shown in the justifications. FY2024 from P.L. 118-42. Current dollars deflated to FY2024 dollars using gross domestic product (GDP) (chained) price index from President’s budget for FY2025, Historical Table 10.1, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-tables/. Note: Transition quarter between FY1976 and FY1977 not shown.

NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: Fact Sheet

Congressional Research Service R43419 · VERSION 112 · UPDATED 8

Author Information

Rachel Lindbergh Analyst in Science and Technology Policy

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