Congress Mandates Manned Mars Mission: NASA Gets $19.5 Billion Boost

Congress has reportedly made a solid commitment to NASA's dream of sending a manned mission to Mars, by passing a bipartisan bill that authorizes a $19.5 billion budget for the American space agency. However, according to the mandate, NASA has to send a crew within the next 25 years and not later.

The new bill cannot be waived by the next US President, a move which is being seen as a step from blocking the new POTUS from upheaving the US space program. "We have seen in the past the importance of predictability and stability in NASA and space exploration, (and) that whenever one has a change in administration, we have seen the chaos that can be caused by the cancellation of major programs," said Senator Ted Cruz. "The impact in terms of jobs lost, the impact in terms of money wasted has been significant."

According to a report, the clauses of the bill may have been created in response to President Obama's step to cancel the Bush administration's Constellation program that aimed at sending a crew back to the moon. The bill is also a historic one because this is the first time a Mars trip has been mandated by law, and will mark the advent of a new era of American spaceflight. The legislation will delegate funds for three different areas in the Mars mission, which includes $4.5 billion for exploration, $5.4 billion for science and $5 billion for space operation.

The newly passed bill will also look after certain necessary space programs that NASA has to carry out, such as the development of the Orion Earth-orbit-and-beyond spacecraft and the new Space Launch System. In addition, the bill makes it mandatory for NASA to send a manned mission to Mars in 2021, keep the International Space Station (ISS) operational at least until 2024 and complete creating the new space suits for Mars.