Obama’s 2016 budget favors Mars 2020 rover and Europa mission
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028620
Los Angeles Times : In its latest budget announcement, the White House has proposed to increase funding for NASA, from the $18 billion Congress adopted in 2015 to $18.5 billion in 2016. As a result, certain space science missions will see their budgets increase. Notable among them is the Mars 2020 rover, which is to get $228 million—more than twice what Congress allotted in 2015. However, although President Obama proposes to double his last year’s allocation, from $15 million in 2015 to $30 million in 2016, for a planned Europa mission, that amount pales in comparison with what Congress ultimately granted last year—$100 million. Left out in the cold is the Mars rover Opportunity, which has been roaming the surface of the red planet for more than a decade but would receive no funding under the White House budget.