President Donald Trump has announced the increment in the budget of NASA for its fiscal 2021 operating year in order to develop new human lunar landers. NASA had $22.6 billion budget for its current fiscal year and in that amount an increment of $3 billion has been decided for its next fiscal year which will become approx $25.6 billion. This remains one of the single largest proposed budget increment for NASA in previous several decades.
During the State of the Union address, the President has represented his renewed commitment towards the agency’s efforts by applying a request to fully fund the Artemis program. His main focus is “to ensure that the next man and first woman on the Moon will be American astronauts,” said President Trump.
Jim Bridenstine, the Administrator of NASA mentioned in his statement that NASA has been focusing on its aim to get back to the Moon by 2024 letting the first American woman astronaut to step on the surface of the only natural satellite of earth along with the next American man astronaut. Jim has also discussed about the estimated price value which was decided by NASA last year between $20 billion and $30 billion. After fixing the amount, a House Appropriation Sub-committee requested NASA’s Administrator, late last year, to add late-sage amount worth of $1.6 billion for its fiscal 2020 budget.
NASA released a formal proposal regarding the mission in September 2019 after two of its statements which the organization released in July and August on the comment from the industry regarding human lander system for Artemis. In NASA’s proposal, it has been decided that the agency who will finish its lander will provide its vehicle for 2024 landing on the basis of which NASA is expecting to have a few winners who will carry NASA astronauts for a human-rated lander. It has also been declared that the second agency will support 2025 mission.