WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2021) The US Congress in its new reconciliation funding bill has approved $1.5 billion funding for NASA, but none for the manned lunar lander essential to return US astronauts to the surface of the Moon in the Artemis program, agency administrator Bill Nelson said on Friday.
"The hurricane (relief) supplement gave $320 million for infrastructure for NASA," Nelson told a televised press conference." The money announced on Thursday in the reconciliation bill (included a) total of $1.5 billion for NASA: That is a considerable positive."
Nelson acknowledged that the proposed legislation, which is supported by President Joe Biden, did not include any money to develop a human lander system for the Artemis manned program to return Americans to the Moon. However, he said the necessary funds would be approved in the following financial year.
"The big plus-up in that (provision) comes in Fiscal (Year) '23- $150 million (is) being given to the human lander system," Nelson said.
Five companies have been selected to compete for that and NASA has been working with the White House and both houses of Congress to get the plus-ups it needs, he added.
NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Kathy Lueders told the press conference that her team was already working on a program to deliver sustainable human landing systems for the Artemis lunar landing by the end of the 2020s.
