NASA's proposed budget will fund a lunar space station, but will eliminate a major rocket upgrade

The proposed 2020 budget cuts NASA's spending by $ 500 million, but reflects increased attention to the moon.

The winners: The project of the lunar gateway is imposed. This is a concept for a space station that gravitates around the moon and would serve as a starting point for exploration of deep space. The budget is worth $ 821 million, almost double what was allocated in 2019. The James Webb Space Telescope, which was much behind schedule, also received additional funding.

The big cuts: There were, however, many more losers in this budget. Overall, the budget requires about 2% less for NASA, which represents a decrease of nearly $ 500 million. This means that there have been a lot of compressions. The main ones:

• The Space Launch System (SLS), NASA's next big rocket, delayed several times, has been lost. The budget was only $ 1.78 billion for SLS, which is about $ 375 million less than what was allocated last year. Specifically, the creation timeline for the Block 1B rocket upgrade has been postponed.
• One of the biggest cuts to programs is the wide-field infrared surveyor telescope (WFIRST) mission, which received $ 312 million last year. If the budget is approved, this massive infrared astronomy mission, scheduled for launch in the 2020s, would be canceled.

Do you want to go into more detail? The Planetary Society did a great job in breaking down the funding changes of last year.

What this means: The funding application demonstrates the Administration's interest in the Moon as a short-term target. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said today that the budget will allow the organization to keep men on the moon by 2028. Next step: get approval for the budget.

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