WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump last week signed a bill approving $19.5 billion dollars in funding for NASA. It is the first such authorization bill for the space agency in seven years. An authorization bill is used to approve the activities of an agency that is part of the U.S. government.
The bill more or less aligns with the budget blueprint Trump laid out last week. NASA won't face the same cuts as other agencies, which stand to lose huge portions of their budget under the president's proposal. Sending humans to Mars by the 2030s remains NASA's long-term goal. Congress will continue to fund the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew capsule for the Mars mission.
Scott Pace called the bill a vote to keep things steady at NASA. Pace is the director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. He noted that the passage of the last NASA authorization bill in 2010 was fairly chaotic. That was because it involved ending the Constellation program, which would have sent astronauts to the moon.
This year's bill left NASA's Earth science budget untouched — for now. Under Trump's original blueprint, Earth science would see a 5 percent cut. The president made clear on Tuesday that he thinks NASA should be focused on deep space, not Earth.
"It's been a long time since a bill like this has been signed reaffirming our national commitment to the core mission of NASA, human space exploration, space science and technology," he said. Later he added, "We support jobs. It's about jobs."
The bill, which was passed with support from both Democrats and Republicans, can be read in full online. Here are highlights from the bill signing:
The TREAT Astronauts Act
The authorization bill includes a law called the TREAT Astronauts Act. It will finally require that NASA pay for monitoring and treatment of any health problems related to spaceflight for all former astronauts. The space agency has long monitored its astronauts for health problems after their time in space was over. That's how scientists know about visual impairment intracranial pressure syndrome, eye damage caused by microgravity. But NASA couldn't treat any problems that were found; it could only refer astronauts back to their primary care doctors.
Now, NASA's retired astronauts will receive lifetime health care for all spaceflight-related issues. This is good news not just for astronauts, but also for scientists studying the health effects of space travel. NASA will need to consider these effects as it prepares to send humans on a journey to Mars.
A Relaunch Of The National Space Council
Vice President Mike Pence said at the bill signing that he will be heading a new version of the National Space Council. This is an advisory board that serves as a go-between for NASA and the White House that hasn't operated since 1993, when George H.W. Bush was president. It's not clear yet when the council will be established, or how it might promote the president's space policy.
Pace served on the original space council under President Bush. He said that the board helps address issues that cut across several federal agencies. For example, it deals with questions about cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS) that would involve both NASA and the State Department. The International Space Station is a satellite center in space where astronauts from around the world can go to do research. Because the astronauts are from all over, the State Department, which deals with foreign relations, would want to be involved in answering some of these questions.
NASA Needs A New "Intermediate" Mission Idea
The authorization bill directs NASA to aim for a human mission to Mars in 2033. However, it doesn't say whether that trip will be a landing mission or just an orbit around the Red Planet. Congress also wants the space agency to come up with an alternative to the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). That planned mission would have sent humans into orbit around the moon as a stepping stone toward Mars.
NASA is now looking for other "intermediate" stops on the path from Earth to Mars. Will the moon be one of them? At the president's request, NASA is currently studying the idea of adding astronauts to the first test flight of the SLS rocket, which is scheduled to fly around the moon next year.
At the bill signing, Trump also referenced the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.
"It was a big moment in our history," he said. "Now, this nation is ready to be the first in space once again."
Trump, Cruz And Rubio Don't Want To Be Shot Into Space
During the bill signing, Trump turned to Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas. The president asked Cruz to comment on the difficulty of being an astronaut.
"I don't know, Ted, would you like to do it?" he asked. "I don't think I would."
Cruz shook his head, so Trump looked at Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida.
"Marco, do you want to do it?"
Rubio also declined. Both senators are co-sponsors on the bill, and their states are home to two major NASA centers — Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
"You could send Congress to space," Cruz suggested, apparently disregarding the fact that he's a member of Congress.
"We could," Trump said. "What a great idea that could be."
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