OMB/OSTP Thoughts On American Space Leadership

Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities and Cross-cutting Actions, OMB/OSTP
“5. American Space Leadership
R&D investments should continue to leverage efforts underway at American universities and in the private sector and focus on ensuring American leadership in space by supporting the Trump Administration’s call for a return of Americans to the Moon’s surface by 2024 for long-term exploration and utilization, and as a proving ground for future human missions to Mars. Microgravity research in biological and physical science on new platforms in Low Earth Orbit is important to enabling longer duration human missions in space and may have practical benefits to life on Earth. Departments and agencies should prioritize in-situ resource utilization on the Moon and Mars, cryogenic fuel storage and management, in-space manufacturing and assembly, advanced space-related power and propulsion capabilities, and orbital debris management. Departments and agencies should also prioritize activities that ensure an industrial base for commercial activity in space and that will broadly speed private-sector progress in meeting stated Government goals and furthering the space economy. Finally, departments and agencies should seek opportunities to work with advanced materials, additive manufacturing, and machine learning capabilities that have broad potential applications in space and on Earth.”