Congress Releases Final NASA Funding Bill for FY 2024, Delays Decision on Mars Sample Return
The United States Congress has released the final fiscal year 2024 spending bill, which includes funding for NASA. However, the bill cuts NASA’s funding from the previous year and defers a decision on spending for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program. The bill text and report language were released on March 3, and Congress is expected to pass the bills before the current continuing resolution expires on March 8.
NASA will receive $24.875 billion in funding, which is 2% less than what the agency received in 2023 and 8.5% less than the $27.185 billion requested for 2024. This final figure is also lower than the amounts proposed in the separate House and Senate bills, which were $25.367 billion and $25 billion, respectively.
The decision on funding for the MSR program has been deferred, as the House and Senate offered vastly different figures. Instead, the final bill gives NASA flexibility in determining the funding for MSR. The uncertainty surrounding the program’s budget has already led to a reduction in spending and layoffs at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is the lead center for MSR.
The bill directs NASA to report on the recommended path forward for MSR within a balanced Science portfolio, including a year-by-year funding profile. The agency is required to spend no less than $300 million, as proposed in the Senate bill, and up to $949.3 million, as proposed in the House bill. Additionally, NASA is instructed not to lay off any more staff working on the MSR program until the report on its future is provided to Congress.
The report accompanying the bill also includes $227 million for the On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM) 1 mission. This mission, which was announced to be canceled by NASA on March 1, will undergo a continuation review in September 2024 if the agency is unable to keep it on cost and budget by removing non-essential capabilities.
Many aspects of the final report adopted language from the Senate bill approved in July. This includes NASA’s request for $228.4 million for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations program, which supports the development of commercial successors to the International Space Station. The report also expresses support for the development of an ISS deorbit vehicle, but does not specify funding for it. NASA had requested $180 million for the deorbit vehicle.
The bill directs NASA to fund the Space Launch System and Orion programs at their 2023 levels, which are $2.6 billion and $1.339 billion, respectively. This is slightly more than what NASA had requested for 2024. The report also includes full funding of $1.88 billion for the Human Landing System (HLS) program to meet all contractual obligations for both HLS providers in fiscal year 2024.
In terms of science, the bill provides $805 million for NASA’s heliophysics division, which is the same amount it received in 2023 and $55 million more than the agency’s request. The report also directs NASA to provide a plan for launching the Geospace Dynamics Constellation, a major heliophysics mission, by the end of the decade. Additionally, NASA is requested to seek sufficient funding for the VERITAS Venus mission to enable a launch by the end of the decade.
The final bill also allocates significant funding for nuclear propulsion work in NASA’s space technology directorate. This includes $110 million for nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) and $50 million for nuclear electric propulsion. The NTP funding includes $10 million to accelerate the development of an operational NTP system with commercial partners in collaboration with DARPA’s DRACO project.
Overall, the final NASA funding bill for FY 2024 reflects a reduction in funding compared to the previous year and delays a decision on the Mars Sample Return program. However, it provides funding for various other programs and missions, ensuring continued progress in space exploration and scientific research.