On Wednesday, the House followed the Senate’s lead by passing the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017, which appropriates $19.5 billion in spending for fiscal year 2017 for exploration, space operations, science, technology, education and more. A vague directive for NASA “to expand permanent human presence beyond low-Earth orbit” is included under long-term goals along with a call for “a thriving space economy in the 21st Century.” And missions to launch the SLS and Orion spacecraft without a crew are set for 2018.
U.S. Congress passes a bill that mandates NASA send humans to Mars by 2033.