NASA Has A $19.1B Budget For The Year 2018; Government Has Complete Trust And Confidence In NASA’s Research And Missions

Robert Lightfoot, the NASA's acting administrator, recently delivered a positive speech regarding the estimated 2018 budget of the agency. He also announced that the administration's budget is tightening across the board. The administrator considers the budget proposal of the White House as a sign of general support for NASA.

According to Space News, United States President Donald Trump proposed a $19.1 billion budget for NASA. The budget will allow the agency to continue its research and long-term efforts to explore the universe, which includes sending humans to the Moon and to the planet Mars. The proposed budget also includes $1.754 billion for the agency's Earth science program.

The budget really shows that the president and the government have confidence in NASA's research operations. With a positive tone, Robert Lightfoot also praised the work of NASA's employees and contractors, as well as many NASA missions that are still undergoing.

As per CBS News, the $19.1 billion budget for NASA was decreased by $561 million over the previously enacted levels that would reduce the number of Earth science missions. The budget reflects the administration's blueprint that was released last March. Robert Lightfoot also claimed that America's space program still remains healthy even though it suffered relatively modest cuts compared to other federal agencies.

The NASA budget continues its strong support for the $8.6 billion James Webb Space Telescope. It is the long-awaited successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. The new space telescope is expected to launch in 2018.

The NASA budget also includes two robotic Mars landers and a mission to study Jupiter's enigmatic moon Europa from orbit. There are also two probes designed to study asteroids.

The budget allows NASA to continue its plan to send humans to Mars by the year 2030. The NASA administrator also said that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be sending a new rover to the Martian surface by 2020.