KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – NASA could soon get a lot of support for its most critical and costly missions.
The White House revealed on Monday the federal government’s spending plan over the next year, which includes a $26 billion budget request for NASA.
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NASA Administrator Bill Nelson backed the proposal Monday while delivering the annual State of NASA address.
The spending plan for NASA includes $7.5 billion for the Artemis program, and in total, the budget request would give NASA $2 billion more than last year if Congress approves the additional spending.
‘’It’s a signal of support of our missions in a new era of exploration and discovery,’’ Nelson said.
The White House said the budget also helps in continuing the operation of the International Space Station through 2030, and gives more than $200 million to encourage building commercial space stations to replace the ISS once the station is retired.
Mark Vande Hei is scheduled to come home Wednesday, two weeks after breaking the record for living in space longer than any astronaut before him.
In his address Monday, Nelson reiterated the agency does not expect any issues with Vande Hei riding a Russian spacecraft home following the invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, Vande Hei talked about his upcoming return home considering the state of international relations.
‘’My hope is that these type of connections that we have can serve as a path forward to try and find that common ground that we need so desperately to find peace,’’ the NASA astronaut said.
Beyond low-Earth orbit and the moon, the budget request would also spend more than $800 million on returning samples from Mars.