---
title: "Congress Denies NASA Request for More Moon Mission Money"
description: "The House Appropriations Committee slapped down the White Houses's request for additional funds for a 2024 Moon Mission by NASA."
date: "2019-05-17"
modified: "2019-05-17"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/congress-budget-moon-mission-nasa"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Moon"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "congress"
  - "moon"
  - "NASA"
  - "the digest"
---

# Congress Denies NASA Request for More Moon Mission Money

![The House Appropriations Committee slapped down the White Houses's request for additional funds for a 2024 Moon Mission by NASA.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/congress-budget-moon-mission-nasa.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Blue Origin\</em\>*

## Amendment Ignored

Will American astronauts land a Moon mission within the next decade?

Days after NASA and the White House officials [asked Congress](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/white-house-nasa-moon-mission-budget>) to top up NASA's budget by a cool $1.6 billion — in addition to the $21 billion already requested — for a 2024 crewed mission to the Moon, the House Appropriations Committee decided not to set aside any additional funds for any such venture.

The Committee set aside a total of $22.32 billion, as [*SpaceNews* reports](<https://spacenews.com/house-appropriators-pass-on-nasa-budget-amendment/>), for 2020. While that's technically nearly $1.3 billion more than NASA's original request, it mostly ignores Monday's amendment request.

Congress is instead increasing budget allocations to the development of NASA' [Space Launch System](<https://futurism.com/tags/sls>) and Orion spacecraft, while broader exploration efforts and plans for a [Lunar Gateway](<https://futurism.com/tags/lunar-gateway>) will receive less funding.

## Moon 2024?

"I am going to reserve judgment on the overall moon landing plan until Congress is provided with more concrete information on the proposed lunar initiative," Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) said in [a statement](<http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=54067>).

The news comes after NASA decided to award [one of 11 private space companies](<https://www.space.com/nasa-private-moon-landers-funding-artemis.html>) — including SpaceX and Blue Origin — with $45.5 million to build a private Moon lander for its upcoming crewed missions to the Moon.

Whether NASA will be able to return American astronauts to the surface of the Moon as soon as 2024 is becoming increasingly uncertain. 2028 is [starting to sound](<https://www.space.com/nasa-ideas-human-moon-landing-2028.html>) far more feasible.

**READ MORE:** [House appropriators take a pass on NASA budget amendment](<https://spacenews.com/house-appropriators-pass-on-nasa-budget-amendment/>) \[*SpaceNews*\]

**More on NASA's Moon mission:** *[White House, NASA Request $1.6 Billion to Return Humans to Moon](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/white-house-nasa-moon-mission-budget>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)