Highlights from NASA’s FY 2025 Budget

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) budget request for $25.4B in base discretionary funding remains flat due to caps imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, but NASA Administrator Bill Nelson anticipates positive changes in the out years.

During his April 30 testimony before the House Science Committee, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson explained the impacts of the $4.7B budget cuts over the past two fiscal years.

“That’s going to have an effect on some of the contracts at all NASA centers,” Nelson said.

This includes phasing out the Chandra X-ray Observatory mission and the layoff of about 530 employees at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory due to budget constraints and funding shifts to support future missions. 

“Chandra has been there for 25 years, and it’s time for new missions,” Nelson said. “But you’ve cut us and this is the compromise.”

Nelson also urged the Committee to consider using the domestic emergency supplemental spending bill to fund the United States Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) that will allow NASA to retire the International Space Station (ISS) and prepare the agency for the possibility that Russia could discontinue its support.

Despite the cuts and changes, Nelson envisions a bright future with planned budget increases through FY 2029 once the mandatory funding caps expire. 

“We, at NASA, are a bridge where the past and the future meet. We work for the pioneers that came before us, and we work for the adventurers who will come after us,”  Nelson said during his State of NASA address. “The state of NASA, NASA family, the state of NASA is strong because the people of NASA are strong... The dream is alive.”

In the meantime, the FY 2025 NASA’s major missions and programs investments include:

• Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD)/Deep Space Exploration Systems: The ESDMD’s $7.6B budget request represents a 10% increase over the FY 2024 Annualized Continuing Resolution (ACR) amount. This includes $7.4B to continue the Moon to Mars (M2M) and Artemis programs. (NASA’s F 2025 agency-wide investment for the Artemis and M2M missions is $7.8B.) The request also provides $117.1M for Human Exploration Requirements & Architecture (HERA).
• Science Mission Directorate: Science requests $7.6B, a 2.9% decrease from the FY 2024 ACR level. This investment covers more than 125 space missions, 54 currently preparing for launch, and 70 in operation. It also provides funding for more than 4,000 openly competed research awards through university, industry, and government labs. The budget proposes $845M for observing and understanding impacts from major climate and disaster-related changes and $171M for continued support to Earth System Observatory missions. Major Science investments include:
  • $2.4 B for Earth Science to strengthen climate and science information and improve accessibility and actionability related to Earth.
  • $2.7B for Planetary Sciences with $612M for mission development programs including an increase for the Dragonfly rotorcraft lander mission and the Europa Clipper launch scheduled for FY 2025. The Directorate also proposes $458M for Lunar Discovery and Exploration, $390M for planetary research, $252M for the Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission, and $200M for the Mars Sample Return Mission. (Note: Due to an ongoing internal assessment of mission cost overruns, these funding levels are subject to change.)
  • Astrophysics: The FY 2025 $1.6B budget supports continued missions to analyze dark matter, search for exoplanets, and explore infrared astrophysics. The budget also includes funding for the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble, and Chandra missions. 
• Space Operations (SO): The Space Operations Mission Directorate's request for $4.4B includes $1.9B for the Space Transportation Crew and Cargo Program and Commercial Crew Program and $1.1B for Space and Flight Support. The Agency allocates $1.3B for International Space Station (ISS) operations through its 2030 retirement. Funding for the ISS will gradually decrease as NASA transitions to lowEarth Orbit (LEO) commercial space stations.
• Space Technology (ST): The Space Technology Mission Directorate's (STMD) $1.2B budget closes the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing Project and establishes the stand-alone Space Nuclear Propulsion Technology Program. The investment provides $836M for Technology Demonstrations and Technology Maturation programs and $242M for Small Business Innovative Research and Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR). In FY 2025, the directorate plans to make more than 600 new awards, grants, and contracts through the SBIR/STTR programs and more than 300 grants through the Early-Stage Innovation Partnerships (ESIP).
• Aeronautics:  Aeronautics proposes a $966M budget reflecting a 3% increase over the FY 2024 ACR. This allocates $279M for Advanced Air Vehicles and $264M for Integrated Aviation Systems.
• Safety, Security, and Mission Services (SSMS): NASA’s SSMS Directorate serves as the agency-wide Information Technology arm. The directorate's FY 2025 budget request for $3B supports workforce, infrastructure, information technology, and business operations requirements including:
  • $2B for Mission Services and Capabilities
  • $806M for Center Engineering, Safety, and Operations
  • $733M Mission Enabling Services.
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): NASA requests $144M for the STEM program to increase student participation and continued engagement  This provides $57M for Space Grants, $46.3M for the  Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), $24.8M for the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and $15.4M for the Next Gen STEM with expected functionality by FY 2025. 
• Construction, Environmental, Compliance, and Restoration (CECR): The CECR $424.1M budget includes $293M for agency-wide construction, repair, and revitalization of institutional investments, $79M for Environmental Stewardship, and $20M for modifications to the Kennedy Space Center Launch facility to support Space Launch System and sustainment of Artemis Exploration Ground Segment.

IT Priorities and Related Investments

NASA SSMS proposes the following IT investments during FY 2025:

• $629M to modernize IT capabilities, strengthen the agency’s cybersecurity posture, and Artificial Intelligence risk management, including:
  • Implementing a modernization and improvement strategy for the Agency’s overall network security. (NASA also received $5.9M from the Technology Modernization Fund to improve cybersecurity and operational capabilities.)
  • Using artificial intelligence, cloud adoption, and robotic process automation to transform and enhance IT business services.
  • Appointing of a Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer in compliance with Executive Order 14110.
  • Continuing transition to hybrid workspaces and investments in high-tech tools to improve agency-wide collaboration through remote and virtual work environments.
• $733M for Mission Enabling Services, which manages all NASA business operations and mission support activities.
• $697M to maintain critical infrastructure and technical capabilities across all NASA centers.
• $628M for Space Communications and Navigation
• $606.2M for Earth Science Research and Analysis Computing and Management
• $263.2M for Earth Science Data Systems
• $151M for Airspace Operations and Safety to support transformation and modernization of the national air traffic management system to enable new advanced air mobility market.

Looking ahead, NASA’s projected budget through 2029 prioritizes future Deep Space Exploration, Space Operations, and Science Programs as shown in the investment forecast below. The agency IT investments within MES also gradually increase with additional IT-related products, programs, and services embedded in individual division programs and specific mission budgets. Although the CECR budget becomes flat after FY 2025, NASA plans to continue upgrades to launch and ground facilities for crewed missions, maintenance of critical infrastructure, and construction of new facilities to support space-related missions. Contractors can look forward to ample prime and subcontracting opportunities, grants, and other funding opportunities well into FY 2029.