How Much Is NASA's Astronomy Budget

NASA's astronomy budget, like just about every other bureaucratic budget, has increased, and will, with congressional and presidential approval, increase again in 2006 and up until 2010, if the current budget request is approved. The President's budget request for NASA' astronomy budget for the fiscal year 2006 includes a request for the Science Mission Directorate that will build on recent scientific exploration and their success. NASA' space budget for this asks for a 23 percent increase overall by the year 2010.

If approved, NASA' s astronomy budget would maintain investments for the satellite observation of earth clear into the next generation of its residents. The purpose of these studies is and would be to support important research efforts into climate changes and hazards.

NASA' space budget specific to the Mission Directorate's Exploration Systems reflects an 18 percent increase. This increase would be to support technology and research for programs such as Project Prometheus. This project would, in 2008, experiment with a nuclear reactor and fund a mission as a demonstration. Upwards of $800 million of NASA' budget would be earmarked for research and technology into human-related endeavors, for the study of exploration by humans to the moon and even farther in space.

$2 billion of NASA' space budget is to return the space shuttle back into space and to maintain the space station. The space shuttle will be retired by 2010. Adjustments in NASA's budget will be made in the areas of skill distribution of the workforce, hiring of NASA staff, innovative management changes and facility changes.