NASA Budget

This week NASA received $17.65 billion for fiscal year 2014. There is a video on NASA's website outlining the fiscal year 2014 proposal. In fiscal year 2013, NASA only received $16.9 billion. The House Appropriations Committee had approved a NASA budget of $16.6 billion for fiscal year 2014 while the Senate Appropriations Committee called for $18 billion. President Obama had asked for $17.7 billion. Th $17.65 billion should be applauded as a compromise that ended up in favor of NASA and the governments commitment to furthering the United State's interests in space exploration.

This spending bill gives NASA money for a mission to Mars, commercial space activities, and to explore Europa, one of Jupiter's many moons. The USA Today article explains how the budget deal preserves these many missions. According to Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle this is a big win for the Europa mission, but the funds for the commercial activities fall short of what is actually needed to put a commercial crew in orbit by 2017. Jeff Foust provides reactions and an excellent summarization of the fiscal year 2014 NASA authorization bill at http://www.spacepolitics.com/.

Spotlight: International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG)

Mars Daily recently reported that a consrotium of space agencies released a blueprint for future space exploration with the goal of sending humans deeper into space. The consortium of agencies is known as the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG). The ISECG was established as a result of a document entitled The Global Exploration Strategy: The Framework for Coordination. A finding of the document is:
     "the need to establish a voluntary, non-binding international coordination mechanism through which individual agencies may exchange information regarding their interests, plans and activities in space exploration, and to work together on means of strengthening both individual exploration programs as well as the collective effort."

Since November 2007 the following fourteen (14) Space Agencies have participated and contributed to the ISECG:
     ASI (Italy), BNSC (United Kingdom), CNES (France), CNSA (China), CSA (Canada), CSIRO(Australia), DLR (Germany), ESA (European Space Agency), ISRO (India), JAXA (Japan), KARI(Republic of Korea), NASA (United States of America), NSAU (Ukraine), Roscosmos (Russia).

In 2011 the ISECG established a Global Roadmap for a long range exploration strategy that charts a way to expand human presence in the solar system. The Roadmap begins with the International Space Station (ISS) and has an overall goal of human missions to Mars. The report which was updated in August 2013 can be downloaded from the ISECG website. 

According to the Mars Daily article the ISECG stated, "Human exploration of the moon, asteroids and Mars will strengthen humanity's future, bringing nations together in a common cause, revealing new knowledge, inspiring people, and stimulating innovation."

It is welcoming to note that the above quote and mission of the ISECG are in harmony with the Article I of the Outer Space Treaty:
     

"The exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.

Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.

There shall be freedom of scientific investigation in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, and States shall facilitate and encourage international cooperation in such investigation."

As long as organizations and agencies work within the heart of the International Treaties while communicating and sharing findings it will be fantastic to watch how space exploration rapidly develops over the next couple of decades.

Asteroid Mining on the Move

     In April 2012 Planetary Resources announced an ambitious venture to mine asteroids. Followed by Deep Space Industries and Stott Space, the race to capture and mine an asteroid has kicked into gear. The rush to these celestial bodies is not necessarily for gold, but for platinum based metals that are used in renewable batteries. Metals used in manufacturing such as iron and nickel are also believed to be available. One question that comes up is how will the materials extracted from the asteroid be brought back to Earth? Another question is what effect will the influx of rare materials have on the market for those materials? An answer to the first question is that the materials do not have to be returned to Earth. Processing and manufacturing can take place in space. Using these materials to build new space vehicles can reduce the cost of space exploration as one of the largest costs is the fuel needed to leave Earth. As for the question regarding the effect on the market, well we can leave that to the economists and the invisisble hand for now. For a discussion of some of the legal issues surrounding asteroid mining see the previous post on the legal issues on mining the moon. Below is a collection of links from around the web to offer a snapshot of where the asteroid mining industry is and where it is headed.

Planetary Resources: http://www.planetaryresources.com/

Deep Space Industries: http://deepspaceindustries.com/

Stott Space: http://stottspace.com/

Goals of Stott Space: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Stott_Space_Aims_to_Mine_Asteroids_this_Decade_999.html

NASA receives funding to capture and asteroid:
http://www.space.com/20538-nasa-asteroid-capture-funding.html

Senator Bill Nelson (D, FL) and others back NASA plan to capture an asteroid: http://www.newspacewatch.com/articles/sen-bill-nelson-says-nasa-will-initiate-asteroid-capture-project.html

Planetary Resources view of NASA's asteroid plan:
http://www.planetaryresources.com/2013/04/nasa-wants-to-bag-an-asteroid/

First an asteroid, and then Mars:
http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/06/17630481-administration-confirms-nasa-plan-grab-an-asteroid-then-focus-on-mars?lite

Commentary on NASA's plan: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/More_Treasures_from_Asteroids_999.html

Keck Institute for Space Studies: Asteroid Return Mission Study: http://www.kiss.caltech.edu/study/asteroid/

Space Policy of the United States

    There are international laws (the treaties overseen by the UN) and national laws (Title 51 U.S. Code). There is also space policy. Policy is defined as a definite course or method of action. Space policy is the course of action the country takes in developing and implementing space activities and exploration. This guides political decisions on the civilian, military, and commercial uses of outer space.
    Space Policy is made by the President of the United States and the United States Congress. In the Executive Branch the National Security Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Office of Management and Budget all play a part in forming space policy. In Congress different bodies share responsibility based on whether the policy is for civilian activity or military activity. Civilian space policy is made by the House Committee on Science Space and Technology Subcommitte on Space and the Senate Commitee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcomittee on Science and Space. Military and intelligence policies are under the purview of the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and the Senate Armed Service Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces as well as the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds hearings on proposed space treaties.
     Once developed, space policy is carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA carries out policy aspects of both civilian and military space policy. Various agencies under the Department of Defense (DOD) also carry out space policy such as United States Space Command, Air Force Space Command, Navy Space Command, and the Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
     The first space policies were instituted under President Dwight D. Eisenhower with the passage of the National Aeronautics and Space Act that created NASA. Every President since has put forth a space policy to guide the country in its journey to and exploration of outer space. The various space policies and supporting documentation can be found on NASA's Key Documents in the History of Space Policy website.