Obama Cancels NASA Moon Return

President Barack Obama's 2011 budget cancels NASA's program that would return astronauts to the Moon by the year 2020. The new budget proposal was announced on February 1, 2010, but must still be passed by congress.http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/space/02/01/nasa.budget.moon/ The scrapped program will be NASA's Constellation program. The program began under former President George W. Bush in 2004 and since then, NASA has spent $9 billion. Under the Constellation Program, the spacecraft called the Orion and its launch vehicle, the Ares I, were developed.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8489097.stm

Under Obama's newly proposed budget, NASA would receive an additional $5.9 billion over 5 years. The funds will be used by NASA to develop new, better and faster engines for spacecrafts and research into 'robotic factories' that would research how soil on the Moon could be used to make fuel for rockets.http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/news/national/12810-Obama-Cancels-Plans-to-Go-to-Moonhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/science/02nasa.html In addition, President Obama wants some of the money to go towards helping private companies develop their own commercial spacecrafts.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8489097.stm

Under Obama's proposed budget, NASA would replace the Constellation program with new programs that would research and develop new rocket systems, develop and test new technologies that could make future space flight missions less expensive and more efficient.http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/01/factbox-nasa-president-obamas-budget/

The key points in Obama's proposed 2011 Budget for NASA include:

1. "Adds $6 billion to NASA’s budget over five years and draws upon American ingenuity to enable us to embark on an ambitious 21st Century program of human space exploration."
2. "Initiates flagship exploration technology development and demonstration programs of “game- changing” technologies that will increase the reach and reduce the costs of future human space exploration as well as other NASA, government, and commercial space activities."
3. "Embraces the commercial space industry and the thousands of new jobs that it can create by contracting with American companies to provide astronaut transportation to the Space Station—thus reducing the risk of relying exclusively on foreign crew transport capabilities. "
4. "Ends NASA’s Constellation program, which was planning to use an approach similar to the Apollo program to return astronauts back to the Moon 50 years after that program’s triumphs. An independent panel found that Constellation was years behind schedule and would require large budget increases to land even a handful of astronauts back on the Moon before 2030. Instead, we are launching a bold new effort that invests in American ingenuity for developing more capable and innovative technologies for future space exploration. "
5. "Extends the International Space Station and enhances its utilization, bringing nations together in a common pursuit of knowledge and excellence in space. "
6. "Enhances the Nation’s global climate change research and monitoring system, including re-flight of a satellite that will help identify global carbon sources and sinks. "
7. "Provides for a robust program of robotic solar system exploration and new astronomical observatories, including a probe that will fly through the Sun’s atmosphere and an expanded effort to detect potentially hazardous asteroids. "
8. "Revitalizes and realigns NASA to put in place the right workforce and facilities to function as an efficient 21st Century research and development agency. "

Source: FY 20100 President's Budget- Overview: "National Aeronautics and Space Administration"http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/nasa.pdf