Report: NASA Didn’t Plan to Give Overall Moon Mission Cost Estimate

Douglas Loverro, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said the space agency will deliver a preliminary cost estimate for the moon mission by the end of 2020. - NASA/JPL/USGS

Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder, Staff Writer, U.S. News

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NASA HAD NO PLANS TO release an official cost estimate for its accelerated mission to put humans back on the moon in 2024 until a congressional watchdog agency stepped in, according to a new report.

Officials told the Government Accountability Office that the space agency did not intend to come up with a number for the Artemis mission, despite a previous statement from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine that gave it a $20-30 billion price tag.

"Without a cost estimate for this mission, Congress will not have insight into affordability and Nasa will not have insight into monitoring total mission costs," the GAO said about its report published Thursday.

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