Nasa’s budget is under the spotlight. According to a report in the New York Times, its mission to return astronauts to the moon would be grounded as part of a stringent 2011 budget.

So, how much does the US spend on Nasa and the space programme? Thanks to the Office of Management and Budget, we have data going back to 1962 on federal spending for each area of government. Figures from 1958 to 1962 are from richardb.us. We’ve worked out Nasa spending as percentage of government spending – and added which president was in charge at the time.

Nasa spending since 1958
Year

▴
Nasa fed outlay $m
Total US fed spending, $m
Nasa as % of US spending
President
Party
1958 89 71,936 0.1 Dwight D. Eisenhower Rep
1959 145 80,697 0.2 Dwight D. Eisenhower Rep
1960 401 76,539 0.5 Dwight D. Eisenhower Rep
1961 744 81,515 0.9 John F. Kennedy Dem
1962 1,257 106,821 1.18 John F. Kennedy Dem
1963 2,552 111,316 2.29 Lyndon B. Johnson Dem
1964 4,171 118,528 3.52 Lyndon B. Johnson Dem
1965 5,092 118,228 4.31 Lyndon B. Johnson Dem
1966 5,933 134,532 4.41 Lyndon B. Johnson Dem
1967 5,425 157,464 3.45 Lyndon B. Johnson Dem
1968 4,722 178,134 2.65 Lyndon B. Johnson Dem
1969 4,251 183,640 2.31 Richard M. Nixon Rep
1970 3,752 195,649 1.92 Richard M. Nixon Rep
1971 3,382 210,172 1.61 Richard M. Nixon Rep
1972 3,423 230,681 1.48 Richard M. Nixon Rep
1973 3,312 245,707 1.35 Richard M. Nixon Rep
1974 3,255 269,359 1.21 Gerald Ford Rep
1975 3,269 332,332 0.98 Gerald Ford Rep
1976 3,671 371,792 0.99 Gerald Ford Rep
1976 (budget transition) 953 95,975 0.99 Gerald Ford Rep
1977 4,002 409,218 0.98 Jimmy Carter Dem
1978 4,164 458,746 0.91 Jimmy Carter Dem
1979 4,380 504,028 0.87 Jimmy Carter Dem
1980 4,959 590,941 0.84 Jimmy Carter Dem
1981 5,537 678,241 0.82 Ronald Reagan Rep
1982 6,155 745,743 0.83 Ronald Reagan Rep
1983 6,853 808,364 0.85 Ronald Reagan Rep
1984 7,055 851,853 0.83 Ronald Reagan Rep
1985 7,251 946,396 0.77 Ronald Reagan Rep
1986 7,403 990,441 0.75 Ronald Reagan Rep
1987 7,591 1,004,083 0.76 Ronald Reagan Rep
1988 9,092 1,064,481 0.85 Ronald Reagan Rep
1989 11,036 1,143,829 0.96 George Bush Rep
1990 12,429 1,253,130 0.99 George Bush Rep
1991 13,878 1,324,331 1.05 George Bush Rep
1992 13,961 1,381,649 1.01 George Bush Rep
1993 14,305 1,409,522 1.01 Bill Clinton Dem
1994 13,695 1,461,907 0.94 Bill Clinton Dem
1995 13,378 1,515,884 0.88 Bill Clinton Dem
1996 13,881 1,560,608 0.89 Bill Clinton Dem
1997 14,360 1,601,307 0.90 Bill Clinton Dem
1998 14,194 1,652,685 0.86 Bill Clinton Dem
1999 13,636 1,702,035 0.80 Bill Clinton Dem
2000 13,428 1,789,216 0.75 Bill Clinton Dem
2001 14,095 1,863,190 0.76 George W. Bush Rep
2002 14,405 2,011,153 0.72 George W. Bush Rep
2003 14,610 2,160,117 0.68 George W. Bush Rep
2004 15,152 2,293,006 0.66 George W. Bush Rep
2005 15,602 2,472,205 0.63 George W. Bush Rep
2006 15,125 2,655,435 0.57 George W. Bush Rep
2007 15,861 2,728,940 0.58 George W. Bush Rep
2008 17,833 2,982,881 0.60 George W. Bush Rep
2009 19,168 3,517,681 0.54 Barack Obama Dem
2010 est 19,123 3,720,701 0.51 Barack Obama Dem
2011 est 17,863 3,833,861 0.47 Barack Obama Dem
2012 est 18,953 3,754,852 0.5 Barack Obama Dem
2013 est 19,768 3,915,443 0.5
2014 est 20,347 4,161,230 0.49
2015 est 20,725 4,385,531 0.47