NASA will request $21 billion in total budget for fiscal 2020, reflecting a two percent drop from its current spending and a five percent rise from the agency’s funding request in 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. People familiar with the proposed budget told the publication that NASA is expected to request a funding increase of over $500 million for lunar exploration and related missions in 2020 to advance government-industry partnerships on moon landers.
The report said the potential funding for lunar exploration seeks to build on the space agency’s selection of nine companies, which secured spots on a potential $2.6 billion contract to deliver scientific instruments and other payloads to the moon as soon as 2020. The space agency’s FY 2020 spending plan would allocate approximately $300 million more for the lunar gateway and $230 million in additional funds to support the development of “descent modules†to bring cargo to the moon’s surface, one of the sources said.
To support its lunar missions, NASA plans to reduce spending on deep space exploration programs that are expected to receive approximately $5 billion in total budget for FY 2020, sources told WSJ. The report added the space agency’s FY 2020 spending plan is scheduled for Monday.