NASA is actually going to be overfunded next year

NASA is poised to see an increased budget for 2015, after the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan spending bill late Thursday. Under the so-called “Cromnibus” bill, the federal space agency’s overall budget will rise by 2 percent to $18 billion next year — an increase of $364 million from current levels, and $500 million more than NASA requested in March. The $1.1 trillion spending bill, passed just hours before a midnight deadline to avert a government shutdown, now moves on to the Senate, which is expected to vote this weekend. The budget for NASA’s science mission will rise by 2 percent to $5.24 billion next year, with the $1.44 billion planetary sciences division receiving $160 million more than what President Barack Obama requested earlier this year. The bill calls for the division to spend “no less than $100 million” on a mission to the icy Jupiter moon of Europa, which had been a point of contention between the White House and Congress. The increase notably comes without cuts to other space science divisions, which scientists see as an encouraging sign.