FY 2018: More Detail
You can find the original blog post about the FY 2018 budget request here.
Status updates about the FY 2018 budget process will be posted on the Information about Relevant Policies page.
If you have any questions about this content or think that something is missing, then please get in touch with AAS Public Policy.
NASA
NASA
|
Account |
FY 2016 Operating Plan | FY 2017 Omnibus | FY 2018 Request | Delta | Percent Change |
| NASA | $19,285 | $19,653.3 | $19,092.2 | -$561.1 | -2.8% |
| Science Mission Directorate | $5,589.4 | $5,765 | $5,711.8 | -$53.1 | -0.9% |
| Earth Science | $1,921 | $1,921 | $1,754 | -$167 | -8.7% |
| Planetary Science | $1,631 | $1,846 | $1,929.5 | +$83.5 | +4.5% |
| Astrophysics | $725.4 | $731.5 | $772.7 | +$41.2 | +5.6% |
| Heliophysics | $650 | $678 | $677.8 | -$0.2 | -0.2% |
| SMD's STEM Activation | $37 | $37 | $44 | +$7 | +19% |
| JWST | $620 | $569.4 | $533.7 | -$35.7 | -6.3% |
Planetary Science
| FY 2015 Actual | FY 2016 Actual | FY 2017 Enacted | FY 2018 Request | Explanation of Major Changes in Request | |
| Planetary Science Research | 252.8 | 274.0 | 291.5 | ||
| Research & Analysis | 162.4 | 163.2 | 197.9 | ||
| NEO Observations | 40.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | ||
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | -- | 57.5 | 43.6 | ||
| Discovery | 259.7 | 189.0 | 306.1 | ||
| InSight | 170.0 | 92.1 | 32.3 | 109.4 | |
| Lucy | -- | -- | 101.4 | ||
| Psyche | -- | -- | 25.0 | ||
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 89.7 | 96.9 | 70.3 | ||
| -Strofio | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.0 | ||
| -LRO | 19.8 | 19.0 | 20.0 | ||
| -Dawn | 17.2 | 22.2 | 10.0 | ||
| -MESSENGER | 6.0 | 6.8 | 0.0 | ||
| -GRAIL | 2.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | ||
| New Frontiers | 286.0 | 194.0 | 82.1 | ||
| OSIRIS-REx | 209.8 | 124.7 | 36.8 | ||
| New Horizons | 28.8 | 21.5 | 12.0 | ||
| Juno | 35.4 | 45.8 | 14.5 | ||
| Mars Exploration | 305.0 | 513.0 | 584.7 | ||
| Mars Rover 2020 | 103.6 | 321.8 | 377.5 | 377.5 | |
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 201.4 | 191.2 | 210.4 | ||
| -ExoMars | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.4 | ||
| -Mars Science Lab | 63.5 | 50.3 | 57.0 | ||
| -MRO | 27.9 | 27.7 | 28.0 | ||
| -Mars Rovers 2003 | 13.7 | 14.2 | 12.5 | ||
| -Mars Odyssey 2001 | 12.0 | 9.7 | 12.5 | ||
| -Mars Express | 2.5 | 2.9 | 3.0 | ||
| -MAVEN | 13.8 | 21.3 | 23.5 | ||
| Outer Planets and Ocean Worlds | 184.0 | 261.0 | 457.9 | ||
| Jupiter Europa | 100.0 | 175.0 | 275.0 | 425.0 | |
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | -- | 86.0 | 32.9 | ||
| -JUICE | 7.4 | 18.7 | 18.5 | ||
| -Cassini | 68.1 | 58.8 | 5.9 | ||
Technology |
159.2 | 197.0 | 207.2 |
Astrophysics
It's worth noting that our NASA overview table presents JWST as separate from the Astrophysics Division. This is how the project is book kept by the administration. If you consider the JWST funding as a part of Astrophysics, then the division top line is:
|
Account |
FY 2016 Operating Plan | FY 2017 Omnibus | FY 2018 Request | Delta (FY18-FY17) | Percent Change |
| Astrophysics+JWST+STEM Activation | $1,382.4 | $1,319.4 | $1,350.4 | +$31 | +2.4% |
| Astrophysics+STEM Activation, no JWST | $730.7 | $762.4 | $750 | +$66.7 | +8.9% |
| Astrophysics, no STEM Activation, no JWST | $725.4 | $731.5 | $772.7 | +$41.2 | +5.6% |
All values are millions of US dollars.
| FY 2015 Actual | FY 2016 Actual | FY 2017 Enacted | FY 2018 Request | Explanation of Major Changes in Request | |
| JWST | 620.0 | 569.4 | 533.7 | ||
| Astrophysics Research | 201.7 | 192.8 | 204.4 | ||
| Research & Analysis | 71.1 | 69.7 | 74.1 | ||
| Balloon Project | 38.0 | 36.2 | 37.3 | ||
| STEM Activation | 42.0 | 37.0 | 44.0 | ||
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 50.6 | 49.9 | 49.1 | ||
| Cosmic Origins | 201 | 195.6 | 191.6 | ||
| Hubble | 98.6 | 98.3 | 83.3 | More efficient operations | |
| SOFIA | 70.0 | 83.6 | 79.9 | More efficient operations | |
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 32.4 | 13.7 | 28.4 | ||
| -SIRPT/Spitzer | 14.6 | 3.9 | 11.0 | ||
| -Herschel | 5.1 | 2.4 | 0.0 | ||
| Physics of the Cosmos | 104.1 | 125.3 | 99.9 | ||
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 104.1 | 125.3 | 99.9 | ||
| -Euclid | 7.5 | 22.3 | 6.9 | NASA is expected to complete work on hardware development activities | |
| -Fermi | 16.9 | 15.9 | 14.0 | ||
| -Chandra | 55.6 | 59.8 | 55.4 | ||
| -XMM | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.5 | ||
| -Plank | 6.0 | 2.2 | 0.0 | ||
| Exoplanet Exploration | 100.6 | 141.2 | 176.0 | ||
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 100.6 | 141.2 | 176.0 | ||
| -WFIRST | 50.0 | 90.0 | 126.6 | ||
| -Keck | 6.0 | 5.8 | 6.2 | ||
| -Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 | ||
| -Kepler | 17.2 | 16.0 | 11.1 | ||
| Astrophysics Explorer | 123.3 | 107.6 | 144.7 | ||
| TESS | 80.1 | 62.5 | 89.0 | 36.9 | Development is nearing completion |
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 43.2 | 45.1 | 107.8 | ||
| -GUSTO | -- | 0.3 | 4.7 | ||
| -Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer | -- | 0.0 | 42.2 | ||
| -ASTRO-H | 11.3 | 7.2 | 0.0 | ||
| -NICER | 11.7 | 10.1 | 1.7 | ||
| -SWIFT | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.4 | ||
| -NuSTAR | 7.4 | 6.9 | 7.0 |
All values are millions of US dollars.
Heliophysics
| FY 2015 Actual | FY 2016 Actual | FY 2017 Enacted | FY 2018 Request | Explanation of Major Changes in Request | |
| Heliophysics Research | 192.0 | 166.0 | 200.2 | ||
| Research & Analysis | 34.1 | 36.3 | 49.9 | ||
| Sounding Rockets | 66.2 | 49.8 | 59.0 | ||
| Research Range | 21.3 | 21.6 | 24.1 | ||
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 70.4 | 52.2 | 67.1 | ||
| -CubeSat | 6.5 | 5.0 | 15.0 | ||
| -Voyager | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.6 | ||
| -SOHO | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | ||
| -WIND | 1.8 | 2.2 | 2.2 | ||
| -GEOTAIL | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | ||
| Living with a Star | 263.5 | 337.1 | 381.0 | ||
| Solar Probe Plus, now known as Parker Solar Probe | 193.7 | 255.6 | 210.3 | 265.8 | |
| Solar Orbiter Collaboration | 20.5 | 32.8 | 97.7 | 51.4 | |
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 49.4 | 48.7 | 63.8 | ||
| -LWS Space Environment Testbeds | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | ||
| -LWS Science | 17.4 | 18.4 | 29.0 | ||
| -LWS Program Management & Future Missions | 5.3 | 5.8 | 9.6 | ||
| -Van Allen Probes (RBSP) | 13.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | ||
| -Solar Dynamics Observatory | 13.1 | 12.0 | 12.0 | ||
| Solar Terrestrial Probes | 70.6 | 49.5 | 37.8 | ||
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 70.6 | 49.5 | 37.8 | ||
| -STP Program Management & Future Missions | 0.4 | 1.2 | 8.0 | ||
| -MMS | 52.4 | 30.1 | 12.1 | ||
| -STEREO | 7.5 | 8.3 | 7.3 | ||
| -Hinode (Solar B) | 7.5 | 7.3 | 6.8 | ||
| -TIMED | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.6 | ||
| Heliophysics Explorer | 110.0 | 100.6 | 58.9 | ||
| ICON | 61.0 | 48.4 | 49.4 | 9.0 | |
| Other Missions & Data Analysis | 48.9 | 52.3 | 50.0 | ||
| -GOLD | 13.9 | 15.3 | 8.6 | ||
| -Future Missions | 0 | 0 | 9.5 | ||
| -Program Management | 8.5 | 11.4 | 7.8 | ||
| -IRIS | 8.2 | 7.6 | 6.8 | ||
| -IBEX | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | ||
| -TWINS | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | ||
| -CINDI | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | ||
| -AIM | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | ||
| -THEMIS | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 | ||
| -ACE | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | ||
| -RHESSI | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
All values are millions of US dollars.
Office of Education
We have gotten some questions about exactly what programs within the Office of Education would be eliminated under the president's proposal. Quoting from the budget proposal document, "The FY 2018 budget supports the orderly closeout and/or transition of these activities needed to comply with federal laws and regulations regarding contracts, grants/cooperative agreements, civil servants, records management, and administrative infrastructure."
During Acting Administrator Lightfoot's testimony before the Senate's Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee, we learned that, " this budget no longer supports the formal OE programs, [however] NASA will continue to inspire the next generation through its missions and the many ways that our work excites and encourages discovery by learners and educators."
Below is the full list of programs that the Office of Education currently administers ( from OE's website).
- Aeronautics Academy
- Airborne Research Experiences for Educators and Students
- Applied Physics Laboratory Internship Project
- Astro Camp
- Caltech Postdoctoral Scholars at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Center for Astronomy Education
- Community College Aerospace Scholars
- Consortium for Undergraduate Research Experience
- Digital Learning Network
- Dropping In a Microgravity Environment
- Education Associates
- Education Outreach Project at Johnson Space Center
- Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project
- Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
- Exploration Infusion
- Faculty Student Teams Project
- FIRST Robotics
- Glenn High School Internship Project
- Graduate Student Researchers Project
- High School Aerospace Scholars
- Independent Validation and Verification Project
- Internships at NASA’s Glenn Research Center
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory Postdoctoral Associate Project
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory Undergraduate Scholars
- Langley Aerospace Research Student Scholars Project
- Magnetic Field Investigation of Mars by Interacting Consortia
- Marshall Faculty Fellowship Program
- Marshall Robotics Academy
- Marshall Space Grant Research Internship Project
- Middle School Aerospace Scholars
- NASA Academies
- NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program
- NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars
- NASA Contracting Intern Project
- NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge
- NASA Pathway Programs
- NASA Postdoctoral Project
- NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative
- NASA Swarmathon University Challenge
- National Space Club Scholars
- National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program
- Postdoctoral Scientists and Engineers, Including the National Research Council
- Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Project
- Research Affiliates
- Research Apprenticeship Project
- Robotics Academy
- Space Grant Work Force Development Project
- Spaceward Bound
- State of Florida Science & Engineering Fair Summer Intern
- Student Independent Research Internship
- Student Internship Project
- Student Launch
- Student Volunteer Service Project
- Summer Aerospace Workforce Development Research Internship Project
- Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships Project
- UARC STI Graduate Student Summer Internship Project
- Virginia Summer Residential Governor's Schools
- Workforce Coalition: Education Task Force
NSF
|
Account |
FY 2016 Operating Plan | FY 2017 Omnibus | FY 2018 Request | Delta | Percent Change |
| National Science Foundation | $7,463.5 | $7,472.2 | $6,652.9 | -$819.3 | -11% |
| Research & Related Activities (R&RA) | $6,033.6 | $6,033.6 | $5,361.6 | -$672 | -11.1% |
| Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS) | $1,349.2 | -- | $1,219.43 | -$129.7 | -9.6% |
| Astronomy Division (AST) | $246.7 | -- | $221.2 | -$25.6 | -10.4% |
| Geosciences (GEO) | $876.7 | -- | $783.3 | -$93.4 | -10.7% |
| Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences (AGS) | $253.7 | -- | $227.7 | -$26 | -10.3% |
| Major Research Equipment & Facility Construction (MREFC) | $200.3 | $209 | $182.8 | -$26.2 | -12.5% |
| Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) | $99.67 | $99.67 | $57.8 | -$41.9 | -42% |
| Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) | $20 | $20 | $20 | $0 | 0% |
All values are millions of US dollars.
Astronomical Sciences
| FY 2015 Actual | FY 2016 Actual | FY 2017 Enacted | FY 2018 Request | Explanation of Major Changes in Request | |
| Research | 67.65 | 60.72 | 51.76 | ||
| CAREER | 4.84 | 4.63 | 4.17 | ||
| Education | 5.49 | 5.9 | 5.4 | ||
| Infrastructure | 172.09 | 180.01 | 163.99 | ||
| Arecibo Observatory | 4.01 | 4.8 | 3.9 | ||
| ALMA | 40.17 | 37.65 | 43.48 | ||
| DKIST operations | 7.0 | 13.5 | 16.0 | ||
| Gemini Observatory | 20.61 | 37.65 | 21.03 | ||
| National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) | 25.5 | 21.99 | 20.67 | ||
| National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) | 43.14 | 41.73 | 32.86 | GBO and VLBA have been separated from NRAO. | |
| National Solar Observatory (NSO) | 8.0 | 9.50 | 5 | ||
| Other Astronomical Facilities | -- | -- | 11.85 | This is a new program line in FY17. Operations for GBO and VLBA were moved here. | |
| Mid-Scale Innovations Program (MSIP) | 12.95 | 21.25 | 6.0 | ||
| Research Resources | 10.71 | 9.71 | 3.2 |
Atmospheric and Geosciences
| FY 2015 Actual | FY 2016 Actual | FY 2017 Enacted | FY 2018 Request | Explanation of Major Changes in Request | |
| Research | 119.56 | 118.94 | 111.39 | ||
| CAREER | 5.90 | 5.61 | 5.05 | ||
| Education | 6.11 | 4.41 | 4.07 | ||
| Infrastructure | 126.51 | 130.19 | 112.22 | ||
| Arecibo Observatory | 4.0 | 4.10 | 3.82 | ||
| National Center for Atmospheric Research | 98.7 | 105.60 | 89.90 | ||
| Research Resources | 23.81 | 20.49 | 18.50 |
DOE
|
Account |
FY 2016 Operating Plan | FY 2017 Omnibus | FY 2018 Request | Delta | Percent Change |
| Department of Energy (DOE) | $29,602.7 | $30,786 | $28,042 | -$2,744 | -8.9% |
| Office of Science | $5,347 | $5,392 | $4,472 | -$919.5 | -17% |
| High Energy Physics | $795 | $825 | $673 | -$152 | -18.4% |
All values are millions of US dollars.
High Energy Physics
| FY 2015 Actual | FY 2016 Actual | FY 2017 Enacted | FY 2018 Request | Explanation of Major Changes in Request | |
| Energy Frontier | 154.028 | 143.845 | |||
| Research | 73.505 | 56.290 | |||
| Facility Operations and Experimental Support | 54.779 | 44.290 | |||
| Projects | 21.085 | 39.0 | |||
| SBIR/STTR | 4.659 | 4.265 | |||
| Intensity Frontier | 246.817 | 192.568 | |||
| Research | 54.683 | 42.22 | |||
| Facility Operations and Experimental Support | 148.863 | 129.304 | |||
| Projects | 36.036 | 14.1 | |||
| SBIR/STTR | 7.235 | 6.994 | |||
| Cosmic Frontier | 131.22 | 77.129 | |||
| Research | 47.326 | 35.53 | "Decrease will require reduced research activities at universities and national laboratories. Higher priority will be given to support laboratory research programs critical to executing the P5 recommendations." | ||
| Facility Operations and Experimental Support | 13.777 | 8.199 | "Decreases in operations funding for currently operating experiments will be partially offset by an increase for early operations of LSSTcam." | ||
| Projects | 67.78 | 31.6 | The LSSTcam and LZ are funded according to their planned profiles. "Additional decreases result from rebaselining DESI to be consistent with reduced allocation, and reducing SuperCDMS-SNOLAB funding that slows the project." | ||
| SBIR/STTR | 2.337 | 1.8 | |||
| Theoretical and Computational Physics | 61.536 | 59.225 | |||
| Research | 57.444 | 57.063 | |||
| Projects | 2.0 | 0 | |||
| SBIR/STTR | 2.092 | 2.162 | |||
| Advanced Technology R&D | 124.825 | 87.864 | |||
| Research | 82.215 | 54.151 | |||
| Facility Operations and Experimental Support | 36.3 | 28.67 | |||
| Projects | 2.1 | 2.0 | |||
| SBIR/STTR | 4.21 | 3.043 | |||
| Accelerator Stewardship | 10.474 | 12.769 | |||
| Research | 5.643 | 8.953 | |||
| Facility Operations and Experimental Support | 4.517 | 3.35 | |||
| SBIR/STTR | 314 | 466 | |||
| Construction | 66.1 | 65.975 | 99.3 | ||
| Long Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment | 26.0 | 25.951 | 54.90 | ||
| Muon to Electron Conversion Experiment | 40.1 | 40.024 | 44.4 |
All values are millions of US dollars.