Russian Budget Cuts and the Moon

NASA is not the only space Agency facing budget cuts. Russia too has limited resources in the space arena. The Moscow Times recently reported:

Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos will receive just 1.5 trillion rubles ($22.5 billion) in government funding over the next ten years, less than half of estimated figures cited by space officials earlier this year, a Roscosmos statement said on Monday evening.

Hard times in Russia are taking their toll.  Yet optimism appears to be in the air.  A TASS article in the same week discussed Russia's plans to send cosmonauts to the moon by 2029, stating

According to a preliminary plan, Russia’s first manned flight to the Moon is possible in 2029. One year ahead of that it is planned to conduct a flight around the Moon, the testing and qualification of space systems for the future manned landing. However, this project may become a reality only if the work to create a new-generation manned transport spacecraft, the Angara-A5 rocket, lunar boosters and other needed rocket and space technology and infrastructure is included in the draft Federal Space Program for 2016-2025.

Russia also plans to send a lunar lander, Luna 25, to the moon's south pole in 2024. Certainly an ambitious schedule for a space agency short of funds.  Yet clear targets can better center efforts and resources.  We need more of that in the US (as well as more funds). 

 

Budget Priorities at NASA: Earth Sciences Come Out Last

The battle over climate change continues, with NASA's budget being taken hostage by the Republicans as part of their strategy. I guess the strategy is that you eliminate the scientific evidence and then you have a clear path to your own strorytelling.  In discussing the Committee's priorities, Chairman Lamar Smith stated: 

The Obama administration has consistently cut funding for these human space exploration programs, while increasing funding for the Earth Science Division by more than 63 percent. The bill provides authorization levels consistent with NASA’s budget request, providing that current restraints within the Budget Control Act are satisfied.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is not happy with the budget outcome, stating:

The NASA authorization bill making its way through the House of Representatives guts our Earth science program and threatens to set back generations worth of progress in better understanding our changing climate, and our ability to prepare for and respond to earthquakes, droughts, and storm events.

NASA leads the world in the exploration of and study of planets, and none is more important than the one on which we live.

In addition, the bill underfunds the critical space technologies that the nation will need to lead in space, including on our journey to Mars.

Earth sciences will continue to be funded, thought this funding will drop by about $300 million. And while some (such as Senator Cruz) may argue it is a new priority at NASA, Factcheck.org disagrees:

Cruz also suggested that the “core mission” of NASA does not include earth sciences. In fact, studying the Earth and atmosphere has been central to NASA’s mission since its creation in 1958.

All parts of government are facing cuts because no one seems to like to pay taxes for anything, from roads to National Parks. That said, we still have a budget that may take us to Europa, continues to fund the next generation of space telescopes, and contributes to future Mars missions (though not every past Mars mission is safe).  Things could be worse under this Congress.  At least we have yet to deny the lunar missions altogether (sorry, I was thinking about that scene in Interstellar).

Image:  Administrator Bolden at an earlier budget hearing. 

NASA's 2015 Budget: What Does the Future Look Like?

Luckily, we did not experience a government shut down this year, which may be a sign that Congress understands the need for a functioning government regardless of its political differences.  Three cheers for common sense, which has never been very common in Washington, DC.  But now that we are left with a 1,600 page signed "Cromnibus" bill, what is in this document and how did NASA fare? It seems NASA will get $18.01 billion this year for its operations and programs, an increase from what the Agency proposed earlier this year in the White House's budget request.

And what programs will be funded?  Spaceflight Insider put together a list of winners:

•  Orion will be funded at $1.194 billion, roughly $150 million more than NASA requested.
• The Space Launch System, the rocket upon which Orion will be launched in coming years, received an additional $320 million over the White House’s budget submission for a total of $1.7 billion for the rocket and an additional $350 million for ground systems.
• Planetary sciences received a startling bump of $100 million specifically to begin developing a probe to land on Jupiter’s Europa moon. Europa’s hypothesized vast subterranean oceans have long caught the eye of astro-biologists as a favorable location for the development of life.
• An infrared telescope housed inside a Boeing 747, named SOFIA, was allocated a substantial $70 million to rescue it from a proposed grounding.
• The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project and the Experimental Project to Stimulate Competitive Research were both fully funded to a combined total of $58 million.

It would seem the infrastructure for manned missions is well funded in the year to come, an encouraging sign.  However, it also appears Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz could chair the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology subcommittee overseeing NASA's programs.  As a result, this may be the start of a rocky year at NASA.

You can find all of the FY 2015 NASA budget documents here. 

Image Credit: Artist concept of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) 70-metric-ton configuration launching to space. (NASA/MSFC)

NASA's FY 2015 Budget Request: Good Ideas with Limited Resources

The White House released its budget request for NASA earlier in the week.  The good news is that NASA has a lot of good projects on the drawing board.  The bad news is that this country does not have the money or will power to adequately fund future space projects.  The White House asked for $17.5 billion for NASA in FY 2015, a drop from $17.6.  And while this does not sound like much, it is a much larger cut if you assume any level of inflation since the space agency again has to do more (or at least the same work) with less money. 

But let's look at the proposed projects listed in NASA's budget:

•  Supports the 2018 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope;
•  Continues formulation and development of Mars Rover 2020 and MOMA/ExoMars missions to Mars;
• Continues development of the robotic OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve and return samples from an asteroid;
• Continues pre-formulation work for a potential mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa. 
• Extends operation of the International Space Station (ISS) to at least 2024, and sustains delivery of cargo to the ISSwith U.S. developed, commercially procured space transportation elements;
• Maintains development of Space Launch System/Orion on track to send astronauts on deep space exploration missions; and
• Funds 7 launches over 24 months: Deep Space Atomic Clock (precise navigation); Green Propellant (higher-performing alternative to toxic hydrazine); Sunjammer Solar Sail (propellant-free propulsion); and four small spacecraft demos.

NASA also made a video explaining this budget, which is an interesting approach to the dry workings of budget policy. 

This is a promising list of projects.  Exploration of Europa is exciting, and one can argue that a lot of this work can still contribute to a manned space mission to Mars at some point in the future.  In fact, the budget PowerPoint notes that this budget "Aligns NASA’s activities to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s."

NASA's Administrator Charles Bolden expanded on this in his press release, stating:

In the coming year, we'll build on our nation's record of breathtaking and compelling scientific discoveries and achievements in space, with science missions that will reach far into our solar system, reveal unknown aspects of our universe and provide critical knowledge about our home planet.  It includes funding for missions to Mars and the formulation for a mission to Jupiter's moon, Europa. It also funds science missions already heading toward destinations such as Jupiter and Pluto and operating throughout the solar system, a mission to study our planet's magnetic system, and steady progress on the James Webb Space Telescope.

Could NASA use more funds for more extensive exploration?  Absolutely, but that is not in the cards with this Congress and in this economy.  And combined projects with other nations, such as China and now Russia, may be difficult to establish given the political situation.  That said, maybe now is a time to out-Putin Putin with a bold new mission in space?  This budget came too late for such vision, but I am hopeful. 

Bottom Image Credit:  The Washington Post.