Biden's budget would boost NASA's science and climate portfolio

President Biden's budget request for NASA would give the space agency's science and climate change portfolios a big boost.

Why it matters: The budget still needs to be approved by Congress, but it shows where the new administration's priorities lie.

Catch up quick: If enacted, the budget proposal, announced last week, would be about $1.5 billion more than what the agency received in fiscal year 2021.

• Planetary science, in particular, gets a large boost, with $3.2 billion proposed, $653 million of which will go toward the development of a sample return mission to Mars.
• The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope and a number of Earth science missions also receive funding in this proposal, after the Trump administration tried to cancel those programs.
• Under the budget, NASA would also continue to aim to send people back to the surface of the Moon, with boosts to funding in a number of areas needed to achieve that goal.

The big picture: This budget places NASA within the broader framework of the post-pandemic economic recovery the Biden administration is attempting to spur through job creation and R&D.

• "This budget request is evidence that NASA’s missions contribute to the administration’s larger goals for America: addressing climate change, promoting equity, and driving economic growth," NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.