--- title: "NASA Budget Billions Short to Return Americans to the Moon" description: "NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told CNN Business that NASA will need \"$20 to $30 billion\" over a span of five years to return to the Moon by 2024." date: "2019-06-14" modified: "2019-06-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-budget-billions-moon" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "jim bridenstine" - "moon" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # NASA Budget Billions Short to Return Americans to the Moon ![NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told CNN Business that NASA will need "$20 to $30 billion" over a span of five years to return to the Moon by 2024.]() *\Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\* ## Massive Price Tag NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine [told *CNN Business*]() on Thursday that the space agency will need an additional "$20 to $30 billion" over a span of five years to return American astronauts to the Moon by 2024. NASA asked the Trump administration for an additional $1.6 billion in funding — what Bridenstine described as a "down payment," according to *CNN* — for the mission, [now called "Artemis,"]() to stay on track for its 2024 arrival on the Moon. And that's on top of the $21 billion the Trump administration included in its March budget. ## Astronomical Costs "We're negotiating within the administration," Bridenstine told *CNN* in an interview. "We're talking to \[the federal Office of Management and Budget\]; we're talking to the National Space Council." Congress [denied NASA]()'s $1.6 billion request. Overall, lawmakers are digging in their heels. And then there's the fact that NASA has spent upwards of $50 billion over the last 15 years, [according to *Ars Technica*](), on tech to get astronauts into deep space. ## Future So Bright But Bridenstine is adamant in his attempt to convince a reluctant Congress. "I think there is a strong desire. It's bipartisan to explore, to learn, to understand the science and the history of our own solar system," said Bridenstine. Another ace up NASA's sleeve: the private space industry. "The reason we need commercial operators is because they can drive innovation if they're competing on cost and innovation," Bridenstine told *CNN*. **READ MORE:** [NASA estimates it will need $20 billion to $30 billion for moon landing, administrator says]() \[*CNN Business*\] **More on Artemis:** *[Trump: “NASA Should NOT be Talking About Going to the Moon”]()* ## 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]()