United States President Joe Bidden proposed $26 billion in funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the recent White House announcement of the budget for the fiscal year 2023.
NASA planned to allocate most of the budget for the Artemis program for the first human exploration of Mars and send astronauts around the moon in 2024 and return them to the lunar south pole in 2025.
According to NASA officials, Biden's request will allow NASA to continue investing in the Artemis program, aiming for the first woman and person of color to arrive on the moon in 2025. These made the project promote racial inclusivity, equity, and diversity promotion.
The agency outlined that the $4.7 billion is for the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System, $1.5 billion for the development of sustainable lunar landers, $2.4 billion for climate and weather monitoring satellites, $1.4 billion for space technology research, $970 million for aeronautics research, and $150 million for NASA'S Office of STEM Engagement.
The budget is claimed to be the largest funding proposal to benefit the field of science and space through NASA. The funding is increased by almost $2 billion compared to the fiscal year 2022 budget of $24 billion.
As of March 14, 2022, NASA's rover on Mars, Perseverance, covered the longest distance in a single month compared to NASA's Curiosity rover and China's Zhurong rover. It will reach an ancient river in Jezero Crater that existed billions of years ago.