NASA Budget: History, Military Comparison, and 2026 Outlook

NASA operates on a budget of $24.4 billion for FY 2026, a sum that represents just 0.35% of total U.S. federal spending. This funding supports Mars rovers, deep-space telescopes, and the Artemis program—all at the center of a political tug-of-war over the country’s space priorities.

FY2025 Budget Request: $25.4 billion ·
FY2027 Proposed Budget: $18.8 billion (House subcommittee) ·
Historical Peak (1966, inflation-adjusted): ~$43 billion ·
Percentage of Federal Budget (2025): ~0.5%

Key facts at a glance

Six numbers that define NASA’s budget story—from its Apollo-era heights to today’s funding battles.

What is NASA’s budget for 2026?

The most recent budget numbers tell a story of political push and pull. For FY 2026, NASA’s appropriated budget stands at $24.4 billion, according to Wikipedia’s compilation of official appropriations. That represents just 0.35% of total U.S. federal spending in the prior year.

Proposed budget for FY2026

• The White House originally requested roughly $25.4 billion for FY 2026, but the final appropriation ended at $24.4 billion after congressional action (Wikipedia).
• The FY 2025 enacted budget was roughly $24.8 billion (The Planetary Society – Your Guide to NASA’s Budget).
• Broader measures, such as USAspending.gov’s total budgetary resources, show $43.52 billion for FY 2026, which includes unobligated balances and multi-year authorities (USAspending.gov – NASA agency profile).

Political context and congressional actions

• In April 2026, the White House proposed roughly a 24% cut to NASA’s top-line budget relative to FY 2025 (Wikipedia).
• Congress restored nearly all of that cut, creating the largest discrepancy between a White House request and final appropriation since 1987 (Wikipedia). This dynamic plays out against a broader fiscal landscape where stagflation concerns and budget debates dominate.
• The Planetary Society’s advocacy analysis suggests NASA will receive slightly more than $27.53 billion when supplemental and infrastructure-related funding is included (The Planetary Society – You just saved NASA’s budget).

Impact on Artemis and science programs

• NASA’s internal FY 2026 budget justification allocates over $1.28 billion to the Orion Program alone within the Moon to Mars Transportation System (NASA – FY 2026 Budget Technical Supplement).
• Congressional line items include about $98.3 million for the Hubble Space Telescope and roughly $208 million for the James Webb Space Telescope, embedded in the broader science budget (American Astronomical Society – FY 2026 Spending Bills).
• Historically, about 50% of NASA’s budget goes to human spaceflight, 30% to science, and the rest to aeronautics and technology (The Planetary Society).

How does NASA’s budget compare to military spending?

The scale difference is staggering—and often misunderstood.

A direct comparison between NASA and military spending highlights vast differences in scale and national priority.

Annual military budget vs NASA

• U.S. military spending in 2023 reached $916 billion (Statista – SIPRI data), and estimated around $954 billion in 2025 (Statista).
• NASA’s FY 2026 budget of $24.4 billion is roughly 1/38th the military’s annual outlay.
• The Peter G. Peterson Foundation notes that the United States spends more on defense than the next nine countries combined (Peter G. Peterson Foundation – defense spending analysis).

Percentage of federal spending

• NASA receives about 0.5% of the federal budget; the Department of Defense accounts for roughly 15% (The Planetary Society).
• The entire U.S. government spent about $6.8 trillion in FY 2024, equivalent to roughly 272 “NASAs” (The Planetary Society).

Historical comparison

• Even at its Apollo peak, NASA was only ~4% of the federal budget, while defense spending at that time still consumed more than 40%.
• Commentators have noted that NASA’s budget has historically been between 0.5% and 3% of U.S. defense spending (Hacker News discussion – cited commentary).

What was NASA’s budget in key historical years?

Four moments capture the agency’s financial arc.

1969 (Apollo moon landing)

• NASA’s budget in 1969 was $4.1 billion (nominal), roughly $25 billion in 2020 dollars, per Our World in Data – inflation-adjusted series.
• It represented about 2.5% of federal spending at the time.

1970 (post-Apollo decline)

• By 1970, the budget had dropped to $3.8 billion (nominal) (Wikipedia).
• The cuts accelerated through the 1970s, pushing NASA’s share below 1%.

2022 (modern baseline)

• NASA received $24 billion in FY 2022 (nominal) (Wikipedia).
• In inflation-adjusted terms, that’s roughly $18 billion in 2022 constant dollars, far below the 1966 peak of ~$43 billion.

Inflation-adjusted peak

• The record remains 1966, when the budget hit $5.9 billion nominal, equal to about $43 billion today (The Planetary Society).

What percentage of the federal budget does NASA receive?

Perhaps the most widely misunderstood number in space policy.

Current percentage

• NASA receives about 0.5% of the federal budget (The Planetary Society).
• The Department of Defense, by contrast, consumes roughly 15% of the budget.

Historical trend

• During the Apollo era, NASA reached nearly 4.4% in 1966 (The Planetary Society).
• Since the 1970s, the average has been about 0.71%, dropping to 0.3–0.4% since the 2010s (The Planetary Society).
• The current level is among the smallest shares of any major federal agency.

Comparison to other agencies

• Social Security, Medicare, and Defense each consume over 10 times NASA’s share.
• Even the Department of Transportation receives roughly twice NASA’s budget.

What does the NASA budget graph show?

Our World in Data, using CSIS Aerospace Security Project data, provides the clearest long-run picture.

Overall shape of the graph

• A sharp spike in the 1960s, peaking in 1966, followed by a steep decline through the 1970s.
• Nominal dollars have risen since 2000, but inflation-adjusted spending has remained flat.

Peaks and valleys

• The highest inflation-adjusted point: 1966 at ~$43 billion.
• The lowest post-Apollo point: 2014 at ~$17 billion adjusted.
• A small uptick in the 2020s due to Artemis funding.

Inflation-adjusted vs nominal

• Nominal budget has increased from about $4 billion in 1965 to $24 billion in 2022.
• In real terms, the 2022 budget ($18 billion) is less than half the 1966 level.

“The flat line since the 1990s, once you adjust for inflation, means NASA has not seen real growth for a generation.”

— Casey Dreier, Space Policy Advocate, The Planetary Society

The catch: The graph also reveals that NASA’s share of GDP has fallen from ~0.4% in the 1960s to ~0.1% today, meaning the agency’s funding has not kept pace with economic growth.

Timeline: NASA budget through the decades

Confirmed facts vs what remains unclear

Expert perspectives on NASA funding

“The budget process is a negotiation between the White House and Congress. The final numbers almost always differ from the request.”

— Casey Dreier, Space Policy Advocate, The Planetary Society (Your Guide to NASA’s Budget)

“NASA’s civilian mandate means its budget is legally separate from defense and intelligence space programs.”

— The Planetary Society policy analysis (The Planetary Society – Your Guide to NASA’s Budget)

“The House subcommittee’s FY 2027 proposal would cut NASA deeply—especially science. That’s a direct challenge to the agency’s research portfolio.”

— Guardian reporter covering the budget battle (Wikipedia – Budget of NASA summary)

Summary: What NASA’s budget means for space exploration

The numbers tell a story of an agency that achieved the impossible on a shoestring. At less than half a percent of federal spending, NASA’s budget is tiny relative to its ambitions—and even smaller compared to the military. But the battle over the 2027 request shows that every dollar is a political negotiation. For space enthusiasts and taxpayers alike, the next few years will determine whether NASA can sustain its Artemis timeline, its planetary science missions, and its role as the world’s leading space agency. The choice is clear: fund the vision, or watch it drift.

Frequently asked questions