NASA Budget Data Notes
Version 1.0 (August 13, 2021)

The following files collect budget data for NASA’s various space science programs from 1959-2019 with a particular emphasis on lunar and planetary exploration. Relevant notes and sources for each file is presented below. 

As a general note of caution, these numbers present top-line expenditures as recognized by NASA Headquarters in their annual Budget Estimates presented each year at the beginning of the Congressional appropriations cycle. In all likelihood, actual project budget numbers may vary, depending on the phasing/reprogramming of funds and sources of external funding not recorded in official NASA records. At best, these numbers should be used more as rough indicators of mission costs rather than firm figures. 

1. NASA Space Science Funding, 1959-1999

This first table presents a breakdown of NASA’s space science program from its inception in 1959 to 1999. Throughout the years, NASA has broken down its science program into different silos, including sounding rockets, physics and astronomy, lunar and planetary, life sciences, earth sciences, and space applications. These categories are not stable and have changed over time, which is marked in parentheses.

All dollar figures are presented in unadjusted, then-year dollars. All data is derived from various years of NASA Budget Estimates found in the NASA History Office, Washington, D.C. More recent budget estimates can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html, accessed on August 13, 2021.

2. Comparison of NASA Lunar and Planetary Funding, 1959-2019

The second table presents a comparison of total NASA Lunar and Planetary Exploration funding and seeks further to adjust for inflation. The first figure is derived from NASA Budget Estimates. The second figure is derived from The Planetary Society’s “Planetary Exploration Dataset.” (available at: https://www.planetary.org/space-policy/planetary-exploration-budget-dataset, accessed on August 13, 2021). The Planetary Society’s figures, which are often larger though still close to those I collected through the NASA Budget Estimates, reflect largely subjective accounting choices, including or excluding various adjacent/infrastructural programs essential to planetary exploration. Both figures are presented to offer scholars more robustness when using this cost data. Additionally, I have included historical notes from The Planetary Society, noting changes in NASA’s accounting standards. 

To adjust for inflation, I have used the standard NASA New Start Index, which is preferred by NASA contractors and research organizations. The index employs a basket of goods better suited to the aerospace industry than the retail economy at large. The index is regularly updated and available at: https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-new-start-inflation-index, accessed on August 13, 2021. All adjusted figures are presented in fiscal year 2019 dollars. 

3. Mission Panel Data, 1960-2019

The third table presents panel data for individual NASA planetary missions from 1960-2019. Data for this table was gathered from NASA Budget Estimates and cross-referenced with The Planetary Society’s Planetary Exploration Dataset. Of note costs are broken down into 1) development and launch costs and 2) operations costs. NASA did not always have a consistent or clear accounting method for differentiating development from operations costs. Instead, this table operationalizes this distinction by simply dividing costs into separate categories: before and after launch. 

4. Mission Summary, 1961-2019

The fourth and final table presents summary statistics for all NASA-funded planetary missions. In addition to budget information, additional mission and spacecraft characteristics were added. These include launch dates, total launches, launch mass in kilograms, planetary targets of interest, and mission class. This additional data was derived from Asif Siddiqi, Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958-2016 (Washington, D.C.: NASA, 2018), available at: https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/beyond_earth_detail.html, accessed on August 13, 2021. 

For any questions or concerns, please contact David Reinecke (reinecke at princeton dot edu).