NASA's budget is $24.04 billion for fiscal year (FY) 2022, $800 million less than the President's Budget Request of $24.8 billion.

Though the fiscal year began in October of 2021, the final congressional legislation was not passed until March of 2022, six months late.

Increases in Defense spending and prioritization of other social programs ultimately limited the amount of funding available to NASA and many other science programs in the U.S. government. The final amount still represents an increase of 3.3% over the previous year.

  2021 Enacted 2022 PBR House CJS Senate CJS Final
NASA $23,271 $24,802 $25,040 $24,837 $24,041
Science $7,301 $7,931 $7,970 $7,901 $7,614
Planetary Science $2,700 $3,200 $3,235 $3,161 $3,120
Earth Science $2,000 $2,250 $2,250 $2,230 $2,065
Astrophysics $1,356 $1,400 $1,446 $1,400 $1,393
Roman Space Telescope $505 $501.6 $501.6 $501.6 $501.6
James Webb Space Telescope $414.7 $175.4 $175.4 $175.4 $175.4
Heliophysics $751 $796.7 $773 $826 $778
Biological & Physical Science $79.1 $109.1 $90 $109.1 $82.5
Exploration $6,555 $6,880 $7,279 $6,960 $6,792
Orion Crew Vehicle $1,407 $1,407 $1,407 $1,427 $1,407
SLS $2,586 $2,487 $2,636 $2,487 $2,600
Lunar Gateway $698 $785 not specified $785 not specified
Human Landing System $850 $1,195 $1,345 $1,295 $1,195
Space Technology $1,100 $1,425 $1,280 $1,250 $1,100
Space Operations $3,988 $4,017 $3,961 $4,128 $4,041
Aeronautics $829 $915 $935 $940 $881
STEM Engagement $127 $147 $147 $147 $137
Safety, Security, & Mission Services $2,937 $3,049 $3,030 $3,064 $3,021
Construction and Environmental Compliance $390 $390 $390 $390 $410
NASA Inspector General $44.2 $46 $46 $46 $45.3

All values are in millions of dollars. Directorate/top-level line-items are in boldface, divisions and major projects are in standard formatting; sub-programs are in italics. All major directorates are listed but not all sub-divisions or projects are included here.

Explore this data in context. View historical NASA budget data, including breakdowns by fiscal year, comparisons to total U.S. spending and GDP, on this Google Spreadsheet.

The Presidential Budget Request

  2021 Enacted 2022 PBR % Change
NASA $23,271 $24,802 +6.6%
Science $7,301 $7,931 +8.6%
Planetary Science $2,700 $3,200 +18.5%
Earth Science $2,000 $2,250 +12.5%
Astrophysics $1,356 $1,400 +3.2%
Roman Space Telescope $505 $501.6 -0.7%
James Webb Space Telescope $414.7 $175.4 -58%
Heliophysics $751 $796.7 +6%
Biological & Physical Science $79.1 $109.1 +38%
Exploration $6,555 $6,880 +5%
Orion Crew Vehicle $1,407 $1,407 -
SLS $2,586 $2,487 -4%
Lunar Gateway $698 $785 +12.3%
Human Landing System $850 $1,195 +41%
Space/Exploration Technology $1,100 $1,425 +30%
Space Operations $3,988 $4,017 +0.7%
Aeronautics $829 $915 +10%
STEM Engagement $127 $147 +16%
Safety, Security, & Mission Services $2,937 $3,049 +3.8%
Construction and Environmental Compliance $390 $390 -
NASA Inspector General $44.2 $46 +4.1%

All values are in millions of dollars. Directorate/top-level line-items are in boldface, divisions and major projects are in standard formatting; sub-programs are in italics. All major directorates are listed but not all sub-divisions or projects are included here.

The President's Budget Request for NASA was released on May 28th, 2021. Highlights of the proposal included:

  • "The Earth Systems Observatory...a new set of Earth-focused missions to provide key information to guide efforts related to climate change, disaster mitigation, fighting forest fires, and improving real-time agricultural processes"
  • Full funding to support a Mars Sample Return mission
  • $143.2 million for the NEO Surveyor mission to enable a mid-2020s launch
  • Continues the Roman Space Telescope, the follow-on mission from JWST
  • Modest increases for Artemis human landing system (HLS) and Gateway lunar station. Supports a single award for development of the HLS program.

Proposed Cuts in FY 2021

  • "Proposes termination and orderly shutdown of SOFIA, the second-most expensive operating mission in the Astrophysics Division, to focus on higher priority science"
  • Proposes to end the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion technology development program in order to focus on surface fission power for near-term lunar exploration.

Note: all quotes are from NASA's FY 2022 president's budget request and related documents.

    President's Budget Request Source Documents

    US Capitol Building
    US Capitol Building Image: Andy Feliciotti / Adobe

    Congressional Action

    In July 2021, the House of Representatives released its proposed funding legislation for NASA. It provided $25.04 billion for NASA, $238 million above the Biden Administration's request.

    Notable differences included the restoration of funding for the SOFIA space telescope and funding for nuclear thermal propulsion. The legislation also provided $150 million more for Artemis' Human Landing System than requested. And though it laments the lack of competition in the program, it did not require a second contract selection. The legislation also provided more funds than requested for continued development of an upgraded SLS rocket and mobile launch tower.

    The Senate released its appropriations legislation on October 18th, 2021, though it did not pass them out of committee.

    A final compromise bill combining all U.S. government appropriations was passed by Congress on March 10th and signed into law on March 11th.

    The final compromise legislation provided less funding than either the House or Senate versions, though it still provides 3.3% growth over the previous year.

    Highlights:

    • $1.195 billion for the Human Landing System program, matching NASA's request, with no unfunded mandate for a second service provider beyond SpaceX;
    • $653 million for Mars Sample Return, as requested, a 2.5x increase over the previous year. Also includes additional language specifying that Congress "strongly supports NASA's highest priority planetary mission";
    • Funding for the NEO Surveyor asteroid-hunting space telescope;
    • $3.12 billion, a new record for NASA's Planetary Science Division, though $80 million less than requested;
    • $200 million below the request for Exploration R&D, which funds the Gateway space station and next generation spacesuit program;
    • Full funding for the Roman Space Telescope project;
    • Flat funding for Space Technology, $325 million below the request;
    • $101 million for low-Earth orbit commercialization projects related to human spaceflight.

    Cancellations

    The final congressional legislation funded both the SOFIA airborne observatory ($85.2 million) and nuclear thermal propulsion ($110 million) — both projects slated for cancellation by the President's request.

      Final FY 2022 CJS Appropriations Legislation

      Related Articles

      Another Day in Action

      115 members of The Planetary Society from 33 states met with 161 congressional offices to support space science and exploration in 2022.

      Space Policy Edition: NASA's 2022 Budget Request Says "Yes"

      The White House’s proposed 2022 NASA budget is almost entirely great news, as is the announcement that two complementary orbiters will explore Venus.

      Space Policy Resources

      Read and explore space policy analysis, recommendations, and datasets provided by The Planetary Society.