To the Moon, Mars, and beyond with the 2024 NASA Authorization

In a 38-to-nothing vote on July 10, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space & Technology voted to advance the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2024, a recently released piece of legislation that serves to establish the space agency’s policy priorities for the coming year. The draft legislation is the result of months of work by the members and staff of the House Science Committee. Democratic and Republican members of the Committee, many of whom disagree vehemently on other matters of public policy, have come together in a bipartisan way to unite behind a strong and focused national program for space science and exploration. If passed, this would be the first standalone NASA authorization law since 2017, although a “mini-auth” was included in 2022’s CHIPS & Science Act.

A quick background on NASA reauthorization

NASA is a federal agency, and as such, is governed by the roles and responsibilities outlined in the U.S. Code. Specifically, Title 51 governs government and commercial space activities. Unlike agencies like the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration, which must be reauthorized every one or five years respectively in order to continue existing, NASA is a perennial agency that does not require reauthorization.

However, authorizing legislation provides the congressional approval necessary to keep Title 51 up to date and allow NASA to tackle major initiatives, like planetary defense or the return of humans to the Moon. Since 1958, NASA has been reauthorized 39 times, each time with increasing levels of detail. Reauthorization used to be on an annual or biennial basis, but as the agency expanded in scope, the time between authorizations increased. Since 2000, only six reauthorizations have been signed into law.

To learn more, check out our overview of every NASA Authorization since 1958.

Say “yes” to the… draft

It is important to note that authorizing legislation does not allocate funding, but instead lays out the policies and principles that underpin American space activities. The slightly longer than 100-page Reauthorization covers a myriad of topics, ranging from the future of human presence in low-Earth orbit, to support for robotic precursors to human exploration of the Moon and Mars, to studies on commercial capabilities to monitor space weather and provide Earth observation data. Nearly two dozen additional amendments to the bill were proposed to add provisions or requirements for NASA. All but four amendments were passed by voice vote, meaning that members voted verbally — a procedural sign of general agreement on the matter. The four that did not pass were withdrawn from consideration before a vote was called.

While NASA faces ongoing cuts levied by congressional appropriators this year, the Reauthorization nonetheless demonstrates support for NASA’s most ambitious programs, including Artemis, Mars Sample Return, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and many others. 

Legislation of this magnitude requires a lot of work, including many rounds of conversations and meetings between the Committee, Members of Congress, and stakeholders. The Planetary Society was invited to participate in this process and commends the staff for drafting this legislation in an open and inclusive way.

Meet the elements

For the space science community, NASA authorization legislation can be a valuable way to address concerns or validate programmatic direction. Although not tied directly to funding, authorizations offer justification for new program lines or activities. Given the significant scientific, geopolitical, and economic imperatives that underpin NASA, the time is ripe for a new authorization to reinforce the importance of the agency. 

To that end, the proposed Reauthorization includes language that directs the agency to:

• Make decisions for science programs based on the decadal surveys and their recommendations.
• Enable a balance of small, medium and large science missions across NASA’s science programs.
• Encourage international and commercial participation in the Artemis campaign and across the agency’s exploration programs.
• Operate a robust Planetary Defense Coordination Office.
• Establish a reliable schedule of new mission opportunities every three years for the Discovery program and five years for the New Frontiers program.
• Pursue a Mars Sample Return program that maintains programmatic balance and national capabilities to land and operate spacecraft on the surface of Mars.
• Support the Great Observatory Mission and Technology Maturation project, laying the foundation for the Habitable Worlds Observatory and other future space telescopes.
• Maintain regular operation of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory before the completion of further reviews.
• Plan for future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars by maintaining observation, communications, and other operational infrastructure at these worlds.
• Address concerns related to sometimes unreliable mission cost estimates and related budget overruns.
• And, by amendment, establish a Celestial Time Standard to better support future crewed and robotic missions at locations throughout the Solar System.

These are but a glimpse at what the proposed NASA Reauthorization Act of 2024 aims to accomplish. The timing of this legislation could not be better as earlier in the week, the House Appropriations Committee advanced a proposal for the NASA budget that leaves troubling gaps in funding for NASA’s space science and exploration endeavors. The NASA Reauthorization passed the House Science Committee by a vote of 38 to 0, more accurately reflecting the nationwide, bipartisan support for NASA and space exploration.

What happens now?

Now that the House Science Committee has approved the bill, the next step is for the full House of Representatives to pass and transmit the legislation over to the Senate. The Senate will then work the bill through their process, which may include making amendments to the text. If they do, the House and Senate will then need to resolve the differences in the legislation before they can send it to the President’s desk for his signature. If all of these steps are completed before the end of the current session of Congress, the bill will become a law.

However, these next steps must happen on an expedited timeline. Between the date of the House Science Committee advancing this bill and the end of the current session of Congress, the House is in session for 42 days and the Senate for 51 days. In the middle of that, all 435 House seats and 34 Senate seats (including one special election), as well as the presidency and vice presidency, are up for election. The results of this could have major ramifications on the makeup of the next Congress and Administration. If the current session of Congress ends without the NASA Authorization bill being signed into law, it would need to be reintroduced after the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2025 to be considered again.