White House requests $26B space budget

The 2023 budget would provide $7.5B for US human spaceflight leadership

The White House's fiscal year 2023 budget proposal seeks nearly $26 billion for NASA.

The number marks a $2.7 billion, or 11.6%, increase from the 2021 enacted level.

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The 2023 budget would provide $7.5 billion for U.S. human spaceflight leadership under the agency's Artemis program. That number is a $1.1 billion increase.

It also invests $2.4 billion in Earth-observing satellites and climate-related research. 

The budget would support the development of commercial space stations, allocating $224 million to use for future space stations as well as the operation of the International Space Station (ISS). 

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Invited guests and NASA employees take photos as NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the Orion spacecraft aboard, is rolled out for the first time, Thursday, March 17, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

More than $480 million would be used for lunar robotic missions and $822 million would fund the Mars Sample Return mission. 

Funding for the human exploration of Mars would dip to $161 million, according to the budget proposal.

More than $1.4 billion would spur NASA's Space Technology research and development – an increase of $338 million. 

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Lastly, the budget provides $150 million for NASA's Office of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Engagement "in order to attract diverse groups of students" to the field. 

"This effort includes targeted engagement of underserved populations, including underserved students and people of color," the administration wrote. 

The White House's funding request for NASA is an increase of $1.93 billion over the $24.041 billion the agency received in the final fiscal year 2022 omnibus spending bill earlier this month.

NASA no longer plans to provide funding for other missions, like the international Mars Ice Mapper mission, according to the budget proposal.

"Budgets are statements of values, and the budget I am releasing today sends a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and around the world and the investments needed to continue our equitable growth and build a better America," President Biden said in a statement

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"All told, it is a budget that includes historic deficit reduction, historic investments in our security at home and abroad, and an unprecedented commitment to building an economy where everyone has a chance to succeed," he said.

"It’s a signal of support of our missions and a new era of exploration and discovery," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during his livestreamed State of NASA address Monday afternoon.