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Blue Marble image of the Earth taken by the crew of Apollo 17 on Dec. 7 1972.
Image Credit: NASA

Last week, the White House allocated a $25.4 billion budget to NASA for the 2025 financial year, which runs from the 1^st October 2024 to 30^th September 2025, and this includes its Earth Observation ambitions.

This represents $2.3 billion less than they had originally requested, meaning there will need to be some adjustments to the program. However, it is a slight increase on the $24.9 billion NASA is getting for the current financial year.

This budget allocation breaks down as:

• Deep Space Exploration Systems – $7.6 billion
• Science (including Earth Observation) – $7.6 billion
• Space Operations – $4.4 billion
• Safety, Security & Missions Services – $3.0 billion
• Space Technology – $1.2 billion
• Aeronautics Research – $966 million
• Construction & Environmental Compliance and Restoration – $424
• STEM – $144 million

Earth Observation

Earth Observation (EO) is part of the joint highest budget section of Science. At NASA’s virtual Town Hall events last week, the agency’s key priorities for the sector were outlined. Despite the $7.6 billion budget allocation, compared to previous forecasts, this allocation equates to a $1 billion cut for the sector.

NASA’s Science Priorities for 2025 are split into four categories, and some of the relevant EO aspects that we noted during the presentations are listed below:

• Exploration & Scientific Discovery focuses on balancing 23 legacy missions and investing in new technologies and missions:
  • Landsat Next & Earth System Observatory are the top EO priorities.
    • Landsat Next has proceeded to instrument procurement, where there is an intention to achieve a greater number of spectral bands and a 6 day temporal resolution compared to current missions. The $150 million investment in Landsat next should see an anticipated launch date in 2028.
  • Atmospheric Observing System (AOS) architecture being reorganised, and it is expected that it will not fly all instruments at once, instead, there will be a mix of NASA directed and competed mission, with at least one put out as an external open call .
  • There is an extension of Terra/Aqua/Aura to end of life, through to 2026.
  • Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)-C, the follow on mission to GRACE and GRACE-Follow On, is now scheduled for a 2029 launch.
  • Surface Biology and Geology (SBG)-VSWIR (Visible Short Wave Infra-Red) satellite has been delayed by two and half years, and now is not expected to launch until 2032.
  • Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor -2 (TSIS-2) is expected to launch in May 2025.
  • Doubling the investment in Geodesy infrastructure supporting the need for accurate Earth positioning.
• Innovation includes new and novel instruments:
  • First spaceborne quantum gravity gradiometer (QGG) using atomic interferometry
• Interconnectivity & Partnerships covers both international and interagency partnership missions including:
  • Landsat Next will be part of an interagency partnership with United States Geological Survey (USGS).
  • Protected Precipitation Measurements (PPM) Mission in partnership with Japanese Space agency (JAXA).
  • Surface Biology and Geology (SBG)-TIR (Thermal Infra-Red) has become part of an Italian Space Agency mission, with an expectation it will be launched before Landsat Next.
  • Advance Space Weather Research-to-Operations-to-Research capabilities in partnership with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, and United States Department of Defense.
  • Responsive Science Initiatives (RSI) will be created through a cross-cutting and realignment approach which will consolidate federal initiatives with international partners. This will include elements such as
    • Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition to purchase the commercial data required to meet NASA’s needs.
    • Interagency Satellite Observation Needs.
    • Wildland Fires.
    • Agriculture
    • RSI Research.
  • Inspiration
    • Open Source Science – a big focus on open science. This is particularly of interest to us, as we are currently participating in a project to establish an Open Science Persistent Demonstrator with the Open Geospatial Consortium where NASA is one of the key sponsors, alongside ESA.
    • Student Airborne Research Program

Summary

These are the EO elements that interested us, and we apologise if we have missed any key other EO elements within the budget. It is extremely positive for the sector as a whole that NASA is still intending to make a significant investment in EO. However, despite all of this positive news, it must be remember there is an American election this year and this outcome may determine the future funding for the sector, including whether all the anticipated budget for 2025 comes to fruition.