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NASA

FYI focuses on the programs and missions sponsored by the Science Mission Directorate, including in the Astrophysics, Planetary Science, Heliophysics, and Earth Science Divisions. FYI also covers science-related missions supported by other directorates, including the International Space Station.

March 25, 2021

NASA Nominee Bill Nelson Has Long History With Space Policy

Former Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), President Biden’s nominee for NASA administrator, spent most of his career in Congress and led panels responsible for space policy over a total of 14 years.

February 26, 2021

Final FY21 Appropriations: STEM Education

Congress made mostly incremental changes to the budgets of federal STEM education programs for fiscal year 2021, rejecting Trump administration proposals for cuts and restructuring.

February 11, 2021

Final FY21 Appropriations: NASA

Congress’ fiscal year 2021 appropriation for NASA funds all major science missions under development but does not provide the budget the Trump administration had requested to advance its aggressive schedule for a crewed lunar landing.

December 22, 2020

Congress Passes Expansive Spending and Energy Policy Bill

In a last-minute deal, Congress finalized agency budgets for fiscal year 2021, approved nearly a trillion dollars in additional pandemic response funding, and enacted major energy R&D policy reforms that have been in the works for the past two years.

October 20, 2020

FY21 Budget Outlook: NASA

Although the Trump administration is once again seeking to cancel several projects in NASA’s science portfolio, Congress appears likely to continue funding for them. However, the agency is waiting for lawmakers to decide whether to provide billions in additional dollars needed to meet the administration’s marquee goal of landing astronauts on the Moon in 2024.

October 5, 2020

FY21 Begins With Stopgap Budget and Stalled COVID Relief

Congress has punted decisions about the annual federal budget to Dec. 11 and remains at an impasse over proposed coronavirus recovery measures, which include supplemental funds for science agencies.

September 25, 2020

Space Weather Preparedness Bill Clears Congress

Congress passed bipartisan legislation last week that delineates federal agency responsibilities for monitoring and anticipating the consequences of solar storms.

August 6, 2020

Pandemic Taking Heavy Toll on Physics

The scale of the pandemic’s disruptions to the research enterprise are coming into focus, with recent surveys warning of significant project delays, outsized impacts on early career scientists, and costs to universities that are already running well into the tens of billions of dollars.

July 31, 2020

US Ramps Up Planning for Space Nuclear Technology

NASA and the Department of Energy are expanding their collaboration as part of a broader White House push to develop nuclear power systems for space applications. The initiative comes as NASA faces key decisions on what fuel sources and technology development paths to pursue.

April 24, 2020

NASA Implements New Harassment Reporting Requirements

Starting this month, NASA-funded institutions are required to notify the agency whenever they determine a principal or co-investigator has violated policies concerning harassment or assault, or if the personnel are placed on leave due to a harassment investigation. NASA modeled the policy on one first implemented by the National Science Foundation in 2018.

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