FY20 Budget Request: NASA

In its fiscal year 2020 budget request for NASA, the Trump administration proposes a 9 percent, $602 million cut to the Science Mission Directorate, which would leave its budget somewhat higher than where it stood in fiscal year 2018. The administration proposes a 2 percent cut for the agency as a whole.

There is considerable divergence in how each of the agency’s four science divisions would fare. The record-shattering $2.76 billion budget that Congress just provided to the Planetary Science Division would be trimmed by only 5 percent, or $136 million. The request also proposes to keep about half of the Heliophysics Division’s recent budget increase. In proposing cuts of 20 percent and 8 percent to the respective budgets of the Astrophysics and Earth Science Divisions, the administration is essentially repeating its topline proposals from last year . And once again, the administration seeks to zero out the budget for the Office of STEM Engagement, formerly known as the Office of Education, which is currently funded at $110 million.

NASA’s budget request documents are available here . For summary figures, see FYI’s Federal Science Budget Tracker.

Several factors will shape Congress’ response to the administration’s request. The result of negotiations to raise the statutory cap on overall nondefense discretionary spending will strongly influence NASA’s final outcomes. In addition, this will be the first appropriations cycle since fiscal year 2015 that former Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), who took an intense interest in NASA, will not play a central role in crafting its budget. There are also a number of mission-level decisions that Congress must make that will bear on how much funding each division receives.

Astrophysics

James Webb Space Telescope. The administration requests $353 million for JWST, $156 million more than NASA anticipated requesting prior to the cost overrun it announced last year. To spread the overrun across an additional year, the budget request also indicates NASA plans to spend $375 million on the mission this year, $70 million more than Congress just appropriated. Astrophysics Division Director Paul Hertz said today at the National Academies’ Space Science Week event that NASA is paying for the overrun by diverting funding for a mid-scale “probe-class” mission that the agency proposed developing last year in lieu of its Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). Although Congress ended up funding WFIRST at $312 million this year, it also provided a broader increase to the Astrophysics Division sufficient to enable the diversion.

Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope. The administration is repeating its proposal to cancel WFIRST, citing “its significant cost and higher priorities within NASA, including completing the delayed James Webb Space Telescope.” Although Congress decided to defy the administration’s first proposal, its commitment will now be tested again. Hertz said at Space Science Week the mission will require $542 million in fiscal year 2020 to stay on track, or else it will either exceed its $3.2 billion cost cap or its coronagraph will have to be dropped from its design. The instrument, which would enable the imaging of some exoplanets, is currently included as a technology demonstration that is not integral to the telescope’s science requirements.

Planetary Science

Europa Clipper. The administration requests that funding for the flagship Europa Clipper mission increase 9 percent to $593 million. The mission is expected to move into its final design and fabrication phase this year, at which time NASA will commit to its launch and assign an official estimate to its total budget. The current estimated life cycle cost range for the mission is between $3.1 billion and $4 billion. The administration assents to the provision in this year’s appropriations law directing it to launch in 2023 but proposes to use a commercial launch vehicle rather than the Space Launch System as currently required, stating it will save an anticipated $700 million. NASA plans for the Clipper to make more than 40 flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa to gather data on the liquid water ocean believed to exist beneath its icy crust.

Europa Lander. The administration proposes to terminate preparations for a follow-on lander mission to Europa, citing “notional” estimates that it would cost between $3.5 billion and $5 billion in total. The budget document further explains the administration has “higher priorities” and that the recent midterm review of the planetary science decadal survey recommended the mission be “assessed in the context of other planetary priorities in the next decadal survey.” Congress provided the mission $195 million this year.

Mars 2020. NASA notes its next rover mission to Mars experienced cost growth in fiscal year 2019 owing to “technical issues” with three of its components, but offers no further details. Speaking at the recent annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Planetary Science Division Acting Director Lori Glaze said the overrun is less than 15 percent of total cost. An overrun greater than 15 percent would trigger a replan of the mission. In any case, NASA is requesting a ramp down in funding from $306 million to $278 million for next year, which is $23 million less than the agency anticipated requesting a year ago. The mission’s total estimated cost is about $2.5 billion.

Lunar science. The administration proposes $210 million for its newly invigorated lunar science program, close to its current level. Of that total, $22 million is for continued operation of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Of the remainder, $50 million is to fund lunar instruments to be flown aboard commercial landers, which would be funded at $80 million. The program also includes $58 million for future missions, entailing public-private partnerships and other “innovative approaches to achieving human and science exploration goals, including the return of humans to the moon.” NASA anticipates requesting $175 million for such missions next year and $265 million the following year. Vice President Mike Pence announced today that NASA should plan to put astronauts on the Moon by 2024, four years earlier than previously planned, and it is unclear how this might affect NASA’s lunar science plans.

Planetary defense. The administration requests $150 million for planetary defense, $10 million less than the current appropriation. Funding for the Double Asteroid Redirect Mission is scheduled to ramp down from $98 million to $72 million. The mission, which will test the effects of a direct impact on a double asteroid system, is targeted to cost $314 million in total and to launch in early 2022.

Lucy and Psyche. Funding for the smaller-scale Discovery-class Lucy and Psyche missions is set to crest at $219 million and $213 million, respectively. Lucy, targeted for launch in late 2021, will visit six asteroids with orbits tied to Jupiter’s. Psyche, targeted for launch in mid-2022, will visit a metallic asteroid.

New Frontiers missions. Three missions in NASA’s mid-scale New Frontiers program — New Horizons, Juno, and OSIRIS-Rex — are currently operating, and NASA expects to select the program’s next mission this year from two finalists . Accordingly, the administration proposes that funding for the program ramp up to $190 million next year.

Earth Science

Decadal survey implementation. The budget request indicates NASA has initiated studies stemming from the recommendation in last year’s Earth Science decadal survey to prioritize missions targeting five key types of measurements, called “designated observables.” The first mission based on those studies will begin formulation “no earlier” than fiscal year 2021. NASA has not followed the survey’s recommendation to start an Explorer class of missions within the Earth Science Division due to “budget limitations and other priorities.”

PACE and CLARREO Pathfinder. The administration again proposes cancelling the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite and the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder instrument. PACE is expected to cost between $805 million and $850 million and is funded at $161 million this year. A decision to confirm the mission is expected this summer with launch targeted for 2022. CLARREO Pathfinder is scheduled for installation on the International Space Station in 2023 and is expected to have a lifecycle cost of about $100 million. It is funded at $18 million this year.

OCO-3 and DSCOVR. The administration requests $7.4 million for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 (OCO-3), an instrument scheduled for installation on the International Space Station this spring. The administration proposed cancelling it in its last two budget requests. The administration has similarly dropped its proposal to turn off NASA’s Earth-observing instruments aboard the multiagency Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite. Already in the extended phase of its mission, the administration is requesting $1.7 million for continued DSCOVR operations.

Landsat 9. As the next Landsat satellite proceeds toward its anticipated launch in 2021, its budget is ramping down from $162 million to $109 million.

Heliophysics

Solar probes. The administration requests $108 million for the “Living with a Star” program, which was funded at $376 million as recently as fiscal year 2018. The ramp down reflects the launch of the Parker Solar Probe last year and the anticipated launch of the Solar Orbiter Collaboration in early 2020. The latter probe is a partnership between NASA and the European Space Agency.

Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe. Funding for IMAP, a probe designed to study the interaction between solar winds and the interstellar medium, is set to ramp up to $125 million as it proceeds toward its launch, targeted for 2024.

Explorer program. The budget for the division’s explorer program is set to increase to $182 million in anticipation of upcoming mission selections.