NASA's base budget for the year, starting from October 1, includes the cost of the 10-year Opportunity rover, and the recently released details are laid down by the agency in the 2015 spending plan.
The plan, which requires the approval of Congress, is also awaiting the completion of the Odyssey mission on September 30, 2016 in Mars orbit.
"They are putting pressure on us everywhere," said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science department, during an Advisory Committee teleconference call on Wednesday.
Opportunity, along with the now-functioning Spirit rover, landed on Mars in January 2004 to track down signs of water residue. His latest discovery revealed chemical remains of water in rocks lining a 14-mile diameter (22.5 km) of Endeavor crater, the water found was not acidic and not too salty, it is a suitable niche for life.
NASA sent the Mars rover Curiosity to Mars, which includes an on-board laboratory for a detailed study of the potentially habitable environment, which is included in the NASA budget proposal for 2015. The agency’s five-year expenditure plan requires a budget of $ 59.4 million to support Curiosity next year $ 58 million a year after launch. Curiosity landed in August 2012. NASA currently spends about $ 13 million a year to support its capabilities.
The 2015 budget proposal includes $ 92 million to work on the new, still nameless rover, which is scheduled to launch in 2020. NASA also plans to contribute to the maintenance of the European rover ExoMars, which is scheduled to launch in 2018.
NASA may decide to reinstate Opportunity funding if Congress approves. The Obama administration also ordered a surcharge to the budget for the so-called “Development and Security Opportunity”. NASA will allocate $ 56 billion, and the amount of the request is $ 886 million, $ 35 million of which are intended to expand the mission.
