Robert Bigelow, founder and president of Bigelow Aerospace, has said President-elect Donald Trump’s administration should implement a twofold increase in NASA’s budget in an effort to support manned missions to the moon and other space exploration efforts, Space News reported Thursday.
“The reason I’m focusing on the moon is because the business case for the moon is potentially substantial compared to the business case for Mars, and the financial requirements are of no comparison,†Bigelow said Thursday at the Spacecom conference in Houston.
Jeff Foust writes Bigelow told event attendees that such an increase in NASA’s funding would also help support commercial space ventures’ business plans and address inefficiencies with some of the agency’s programs.
“I propose that NASA should have, beginning in fiscal year 2019, an annual budget equal to at least one percent of total yearly federal spending,†Bigelow noted, according to the report.
