Keith’s note: According to a press release “Science Committee Leaders Commend House Passage of NASA Reauthorization“: “Today, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee leaders praised the House passage of H.R. 8958, the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2024. This bipartisan legislation reaffirms our commitment to leading global space and science endeavors and emphasizes the importance of commercial partnerships and international collaboration in advancing space exploration and scientific research. … Read the bill’s Fact Sheet and Section by Section.”

Source: PSI Planetary Exploration Newsletter: “As many of you will have seen, earlier this week NASA made the shocking decision to cancel the VIPER project following completion of the rover’s build. It now faces the prospect of being dismembered. We have organized an open letter to Congress from the wider science community asking them to refuse any request to cancel this mission, by ensuring that it continues to be included as a budgetary line-item. You can find this letter here: https://forms.gle/XDSzTra4NPSS1VC27 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the letter’s organizers, Dr Benjamin Fernando ([email protected]) or Dr Parvathy Prem ([email protected]) who have organized this letter in a personal capacity.”

Keith’s note: The draft FY 2025 spending bill is working its way through the House. NASA Science gets the same amount as it was supposed to get in FY 2024 which equates to a ~$230M cut. NASA education programs get $89 million – the same as it was supposed to get in FY 2024 i.e no big increase as The White House had requested. Looks like the Artemis Program will do OK – even if the education for the Artemis Generation will not.

Keith’s note: Sources report that the internal NASA Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process has included discussion of a possible RIF in FY 2025. The budget is that bad folks. Stay tuned. Maybe Senator Administrator Bill Nelson can enlighten everyone as to how bad the NASA budget situation really is. NASA is not going to be doing a robust Artemis program or MSR or many of other big new things it wants to do in a budget environment with RIFs. RIFs can be brutal, pit one employee against another, decimate morale, and prompt people to find a more secure job.

• Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Hearing – Advancing Scientific Discovery: Assessing the Status of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate
• March 21, 2024 10:00 AM EDT
• Hearing charter
• Dr. Nicola Fox, Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA
• Mr. George A. Scott, Acting Inspector General, NASA
• Dr. Jonathan I. Lunine, Cornell University
• Mr. A. Thomas Young, Former Director, GSFC and Former President and COO, Martin Marietta
• Watch live

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate will hold a Budget Town Hall meeting with Associate Administrator for Science Nicky Fox and her leadership team on Wednesday from 1:00 – 2:00 pm EDT. Participants are invited to submit their questions below and/or vote up questions already posted.

Keith’s note: True to form, overt politico Senator Administrator Bill Nelson D-FL said “As history has proven, as the present has shown, and as the future will continue to demonstrate, an investment in NASA is an investment in America for the benefit of humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “President Biden’s budget will fund our nation’s abilities and leadership for the future of space exploration, scientific discovery, cutting-edge technology, climate data, the next generation of aeronautics, and inspiring our future leaders – the Artemis Generation.” This is, of course, nonsense since NASA’s budget overruns/delays on Artemis, Mars Sample Return etc. have already begin to eat up other projects. An insufficient FY 25 budget simply makes things worse. Remember just a few years ago the NASA mantra was “Journey to Mars” in the 2030s. Well, the new variant – NASA “Moon to Mars” thing now only shows the Moon – no Mars – in the 2030s. Negative progress – indeed its space exploration Shrinkflation. Clicking your heels together, crossing your fingers, and whistling “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” ain’t gonna solve anything, Bill. NASA’s plans are royally screwed. And the Artemis Generation will not witness all the happy talk you continue to throw their way. I guess that Moon rock is not in the Oval Office anymore.

• According to Marcia Smith @SpcPlcyOnline {see chart above} From NASA budget summary, latest Artemis schedule. SpaceX Starship HLS test in 2026, same year as Artemis III landing. Artemis V, first use of Blue Origin’s HLS, now in 2030.
• According to @Lori_Garver The @POTUS ’25 @NASA budget of $25.38B is ~$2.5B less than projected last year. Along w/ congressional cut of $2.3B for 2024, the agency’s growth trend is now reversed. Absorbing these reductions w/out cancelling major programs will cause delays across the board. Tough choices.
• The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration put out a statement that only expresses concern about human spaceflight – not all the other things NASA does.
• In a 7 March Statement the Planetary Society only focuses on space science – and not human spaceflight
• Here are the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request documents posted by NASA. Read them and weep.

Keith’s note: I tossed out some tweets out today on @NASAWatch about the layoff and budget situation. The President’s FY 2025 budget will drop on 11 March. It is not going to have much – if any – good news. Mostly bad news that will pit one part of NASA against another. Lots of things will be cut – to the point that some rather draconian decisions will need to be made. Whatever happens please don’t give up on your space dreams.

• When the FY25 budget request from the White House drops we’ll all be seeing that exploration i.e. #Artemis has a much higher priority than does science at #NASA Its not just math but also what @NASA 9th floor sees as priorities and what issues they have to face on Capitol Hill.
• NASA budget math: Look at #Mars Sample Return & what they got ~$600m has to come from somewhere assuming no more bad news. But there will be bad news when WH FY25 budget request drops. MSR $ will have to come from somewhere like Dragonfly/Earth Science or no MSR. Its math folks.
• While the folks at @NASAJPL got hit first with layoffs first they will soon be coming to @NASAGoddard and since civil servants will likely be involved it’ll be time for a #RIF. Again this is budget math folks. If the money ain’t there then @NASA can’t spend it.
• Meanwhile we have #ISS ops to pay until 2030 then $1-2 billion to dump it into the ocean. Meanwhile fund @Axiom_Space &/or @OrbitalReef &/or @Starlab_Space LEO space stations while also building #Gateway lunar space station and & human missions to the Moon at $2-4 billion a pop.
• Strange thing is – @NASA loves to talk about all that science goodness that humans will do on the Moon and Mars yet they are going to cut a lot of that off at the knees. What will the #Artemis crews do when they get there? Flags & footprints?

Keith’s 24 January note: I am hearing that the impact on NASA of the Continuing Resolution ~$500 million shortfall is likely going to have some significant impacts on employees at JPL and Goddard – and elsewhere. Some things will be unaffected, others will be delayed. If implemented this will happen rather soon. Stay tuned.

• 6 Feb Update: JPL Workforce Update After exhausting all other measures to adjust to a lower budget from NASA, and in the absence of an FY24 appropriation from Congress, we have had to make the difficult decision to reduce the JPL workforce through layoffs. JPL staff has been advised that the workforce reduction will affect approximately 530 of our colleagues, an impact of about 8%, plus approximately 40 additional members of our contractor workforce. The impacts will occur across both technical and support areas of the Lab. These are painful but necessary adjustments that will enable us to adhere to our budget allocation while continuing our important work for NASA and our nation.
• NASA PAO from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson: “Earlier today, JPL announced a reduction in its workforce. These painful decisions are hard, and we will feel this loss across the NASA family. A recent Independent Review Board examined the Mars Sample Return mission and NASA is currently assessing the path forward based on their input. In addition to this need for a pause, this decision is necessary because the FY 2024 appropriation, which already started on Oct. 1, 2023, has not been passed by Congress and the lowest level of funding approved has been reported by the Senate appropriations committee. To spend more than that amount, with no final legislation in place, would be unwise and spending money NASA does not have. JPL has long been – and will continue to be – a shining example of America’s leadership in space. Even in the wake of current challenges, JPL will continue to help drive key upcoming NASA missions as we explore the cosmos with Europa Clipper, study our changing climate with the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), and defend the planet with the Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope (NEO Surveyor).”

Keith’s note: According to this press release NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Releases 2023 Annual Report. According to the ASAP Report: “The current budget environment has significant implications for mission and safety risk. NASA has a very full mission plate. To the extent that their budget request is not fully funded, the leadership will need to acknowledge and make critical decisions with respect to program content or schedules, which will need to be adjusted to meet fiscal realities. Attempting to do all planned efforts on expected timelines will introduce unacceptable and unmanaged risk. The Agency will need to rely on its developed strategic vision, objectives, and architecture to establish well-defined priorities to ground its endeavors in reality – taking fully into account the risk-benefit tradeoffs. It is equally critical that the Agency be transparent about these realities and choices with its stakeholder and workforce. Stakeholders must come to understand and respect realistic expectations and schedules, and the Agency cannot bow to external pressure to exceed rational anticipations. The workforce must be confident that NASA leadership’s expectations are reasonable and authentic. The Agency is blessed with a workforce that has traditionally given one hundred percent to achieving difficult goals. If those talented and dedicated personnel are cognizant that they are embarked on a journey that is not just challenging and risky, but not realistically achievable, there will be both a serious erosion of morale and an undermining of the essential safety culture. On the assumption that NASA will make the tough choices to execute safely and effectively within budgeted resources, an even greater challenge resides in the budget uncertainty resulting from Congress’ consistent inability to provide timely and definitive appropriations. The ambiguity within which NASA must plan and execute its mission is deeply troublesome. It causes distraction from the focus on the “real work,” including safety, adds untold hours and days of unproductive labor, and (perhaps most important) hampers the ability to make timely decisions that ultimately impact safety and mission assurance. Given that it is unlikely that Congress will provide appropriate and timely budget clarity, NASA will be compelled to deal with this ambiguity. NASA should be candid and clear about – and Congress and other stakeholders should open their eyes to – the consequences of dealing with budget uncertainty.”

Keith’s note: According to this little gem that was tossed online after hours on a Friday “NASA Adjusts Agreements to Benefit Commercial Station Development“ “We continue to see an immense amount of dedication from our partners,” said Angela Hart, manager of Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.“The agency is committed to continuing to work with industry with the goal having one or more stations in orbit to ensure competition, lower costs, and meet the demand of NASA and other customers.” Uh huh. Since when has NASA lowered the cost – of anything? This whole ISS vs Gateway/Artemis vs Orbital Reef vs Starlab vs Axiom vs Russia vs China vs Congress with regard to space stations is all going to result in an inelastic collision – soon. To some extent this announcement is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The money is simply not there for everything, competing priorities are inherently non-synergistic, and in place of a coherent, national strategy – one that takes these things into account in a realistic way – we have a short-term, seat of the pants, ad hoc, fake it until you make it, free for all. Something has got to give since neither the money or a clear policy path are on the horizon. And the warning signs – if they are even apparent – will be ignored until it is too late. And expecting the National Space Council to do anything substantive is simply naive in the extreme. Oh then there’s the whole 2024 election thing and the fact that NASA has no idea when the moon walking resumes and … Just sayin’

Keith’s note: What is this going to do to NASA’s Artemis plans, and issues within SMD over science missions – and the “nice to have” things like education? Stay tuned. According to Reuters: “The deal would suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until January of 2025, allowing the U.S. government to pay its bills. In exchange, non-defense discretionary spending would be capped at current year levels in 2024 and increased by only 1% in 2025.” Ouch. More.

Keith’s note: The House Science Committee held a Fiscal Year 2024 Proposed Budget Request for NASA hearing today. According to committee chair Frank Lucas’ prepared sattement: “Because of these overflowing costs, NASA has been forced to make difficult choices in its science portfolio. It postponed a selected mission to Venus, indefinitely paused a flagship heliophysics mission, and delayed launch of an important asteroid detection spacecraft. If this trend continues, then NASA may have to make difficult decisions to postpone or cancel future missions. This is unacceptable and we must do better.” Bill Nelson made no mention of delays or cost overruns. Instead all he said in his prepared statement was “The FY 2024 Request is the highest request for NASA science in history, supporting over 120 NASA science missions and 10,000 U.S. scientists through more than 4,000 openly competed research awards.” Video below.

Keith’s note: according to OMB: “The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is responsible for sending astronauts and robotic missions to explore the solar system, advancing the Nation’s understanding of the Earth and space, and developing new technologies and approaches to improve aviation and space activities. The President’s 2024 Budget for NASA: supports human and robotic exploration of the Moon; invests in new technologies to improve the Nation’s space capabilities; and promotes cutting-edge Earth-observing satellites and green aviation research to help address pressing environmental challenges. The Budget requests $27.2 billion in discretionary budget authority for 2024, a $1.8 billion or 7-percent increase from the 2023 enacted level.”

• Budget Summary
• Agency Fact Sheet
• Mission Fact Sheets
• Full Budget Request (Congressional Justification)
• Budget Request (from the Office of Management and Budget)

Keith’s note: Some former Trump people like former OMB director Russell Vought are running around saying NASA is too “woke” so its OK to cut the NASA science budget by 50% to find the money to do the things that they wanted to do with Social Security or Medicare money – but can’t. He has been making the rounds with these ideas – and you can read all about all his anti-wokeish fever dreams here (se pages 85-86).

NASA GAO Report: NASA’s Compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act for Fiscal Year 2021 “We found that NASA was not in compliance with PIIA for FY 2021 because it did not publish improper payment estimates for the Space Launch Sy stem (SLS) program in the accompanying materials to the AFR as required by the statute. In our FY 2019 improper payment compliance audit, we reported that NASA failed to […]

House Appropriatons Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) spending bill “National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). For NASA, the bill includes $25,446,200,000, an increase of $1,404,900,000 above fiscal year 2022, including strong funding levels for NASA’s science, aeronautics research, human space exploration, space technology, and STEM Engagement programs.” Hearing – FY 2023 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies and Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bills Tuesday, June 28, […]

New director of NASA’s storied Jet Propulsion Lab takes on ballooning mission costs , Science “Q: JPL has an incredible record of success in robotic missions. But you’ve had a lot of cost overruns with the Mars rovers, and we’re seeing it again with Europa Clipper, which will now cost an estimated $5 billion. What steps can JPL and other centers take to stop getting surprised by cost increases? A: […]

Budget summary for @NASA in FY 2023 “The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) inspires the Nation by sending astronauts and robotic missions to explore the solar system, advances the Nation’s understanding of the Earth and space, and develops new technologies and approaches to improve aviation and space activities. The President’s 2023 Budget for NASA invests in: human and robotic exploration of the Moon; new technologies to improve the Nation’s […]