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The lengthy fiscal year 2023 budget process has begun in the United States. As a reminder, the American fiscal year covers a period extending from 1er October of year N-1 to September 30 of year N. After the request of the Nasa which detailed its needs, the White House submitted to Congress its budget for the year 2023. This budget is only a proposal. It is now up to the Senate and the House to find a consensus on a budget text (in theory before September 30), which will then be submitted for final approval by the Executive.
Return to the Moon in 2025
Unsurprisingly, the budget plans to strengthen the dominant position of the United States in many areas, including, not surprisingly, the manned flights and exploring. In the race with China to settle permanently on the Moon, NASA wants to get a head start with its Artemis program. The Biden administration plans to spend $7.6 billion on exploration, which it believes is enough to get Americans back on the Moon as early as 2025. An optimism we don’t share – $1.5 billion are planned for lunar landers of Artemis.
While one might have thought that the duration of life of the international space station be reduced due to the unprecedented crisis space relations between Westerners, Japanese and Russians are going through, the Biden administration still plans to use it until 2030. $224 million is planned to help the American private sector to launch the development and implementation service of commercial space stations so as to begin a transition with the ISS and not leave the United States without a “home” in low orbit. Still in low orbit, the economic development of low orbits is taken very seriously by the United States, which plans to devote some $1.6 billion there to help research and development of technologies that could be used for a whole bunch new activities, some of which do not yet exist. The future prospects of this LEO hub promise commercial opportunities and a large range of new activities. They take on the appearance of a new space race – this time commercial, and even faster than that of the 1960s – and which Europe and the European Space Agency seem to have already lost.
Unprecedented Earth observation missions
In the field of Science, nearly 8 billion dollars could be spent (7.988 exactly). 2.4 billion dollars are planned for Earth Sciences with the continued development of the GeoCarb missions (geostationary observatory of the carbon), the observatory of absolute radiance and refractivity of the weather CLARREO-Pathfinder and PACE. This unprecedented mission will be able to collect radiometric and polarimetric measurements of the ocean andatmospherefrom which will be collected oceanic, ecological and biogeochemical data, as well as data on the clouds and the particles aerosols.
The missions carried out in international collaboration Nisar with India and Swot with France are also reinforced. Nisar is a satellite ofearth observation which will embark for the first time a radar at opening summary which will use two different radar frequencies: L-band and S-band. As for Swot, it is a satellite ofaltimetry of new generation which is in line with the continuity of Jason-1-2-3. This mission is intended for the study of the topography of the oceans and continental surface waters, lakes and rivers, the debit rivers, and to determine in a way that is both very fine and very precise ocean level.
For planetary sciences, it will be $3.16 billion. All planned missions will be funded. Let it be the Martian Sample Return Mission MSRViper which aims to discover water in the basement of the lunar South Pole or Europa Clipper bound for the moon Europe of Jupiter. As for the missions related to asteroids and planetary protection as dart and NEO-Surveyor, they are also funded.
Space observatories to answer fascinating questions
Concerning space sciences, 1.556 billion dollars are proposed to pursue the construction of the Nancy Grace Roman observatory which should define the destiny of the universe (among others), SPHEREx, to explore the origins of the universe and life and the space telescope gamma for study the evolution of the Milky Way (Cosi). It should be noted that the budget proposes the closure of the mission of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia), in accordance with the conclusions of the ten-year survey concerning its low scientific productivity.
Heliophysics, Earth-Sun relations and the influence of Sun in the Solar system are not forgotten with 760 million. Several missions will be supported. The budget supports efforts to improve weather forecast spatial.
We often forget it, but NASA is not just about space. It is also an agency that works in the field of aviation. Some 970 million dollars are planned, including 500 to reduce the climate impact of aviation and to initiate or reinforce the development of technologies necessary for the zero plane episode. The programs X-59 (supersonic aircraft) and X-57 (electric aircraft) are reinforced.
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