Letter to the Hon. Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the United States - Murray, Senate Democrats Call for Continued Support of NASA Lander Program

Letter

As you consider your budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2022 we write in support of continued
funding for NASA's Human Landing System (HLS) program. Developing the next generation
crewed lunar lander is an essential step in returning astronauts to the Moon for the first time in
half a century, including the historic milestone of landing the first woman on the Moon.
On April 30, 2020, NASA selected three U.S. companies to enter into a 10-month base period to
begin work on their distinct human landing system designs under public-private partnerships
with NASA. Significant progress has been made since then, with all three teams passing their
respective Continuation Review milestones with NASA, constructing full-scale mockups, and
conducting tests on real hardware, including engines. Ultimately, NASA plans to select up to two
of the providers for development and flight after the conclusion of the base period in February
2021. The decision on which companies will advance to the development phase was originally
intended to occur within the next 30 days, and we urge that decision not be delayed.
Major space exploration efforts have faced disruption as administrations have changed and
priorities shifted. It is now time for stability if the nation is to make progress on these initiatives.
NASA has made significant progress through the Artemis Program and we strongly believe that
those efforts should continue in FY 2022. The program has strong, bipartisan Congressional
support and has received nearly $1.5 billion in funding between FY 2020 and FY 2021 in the
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bills. We recommend robust
funding in FY 2022 for continuation of the HLS program and the timely selection of companies
to advance to the next stage of development and demonstration contracts. Maintaining
competition in this program to the maximum practical extent encourages innovation, controls
costs, and ensures the nation has assured access to deep space.
We recognize and embrace the fact that NASA has numerous vital missions, including planetary
science, climate change research, and STEM education outreach. We fully support this work.
The previous administration sought to cannibalize these efforts for the Artemis Program, an
approach with which we vehemently disagree, and which the Congress roundly rejected on a
bipartisan basis. We urge you to protect all of NASA's critical work by requesting a topline
funding level commensurate with the true need.
Since its inception, the Artemis Program has captured the excitement and investment of U.S.
industry, inspired students, energized STEM programs, and sparked new international
partnerships and commitments. Additionally, NASA's SOFIA mission recently discovered even
more compelling evidence of water on the Moon, this time in its sunlit regions, affording
exciting new opportunities for lunar science.1 Artemis and HLS will also undeniably support
economic recovery, and will provide significant new and expanded opportunities for our national
aerospace industrial base and supply chain. In an economic impact study released by the agency
in the September 2020, NASA's Moon to Mars initiative, which includes Artemis, created over
69,000 jobs and more than $14 billion of economic output in FY 2019 alone.2 With HLS
development beginning in earnest in FY 2021, these figures will undoubtedly rise.
Artemis and HLS also support continued U.S. global space leadership. In 2019, China became
the third nation after the U.S. and the Soviet Union to successfully complete a soft landing on the
lunar surface and they recently conducted a successful sample return mission. China plans to
continue to conduct robotic lunar missions over the next few years and build lunar infrastructure
with its International Lunar Research Station, and other countries, including India and Israel,
have interest in future missions. This presents opportunities for important international
collaboration and healthy competition.
NASA's Artemis Program will return America to deep space, support economic recovery,
strengthen national security, promote scientific research, and inspire the next generation. The
HLS Program will develop 21st century crewed lunar landers -- a critical piece of the Artemis
architecture. We urge you to proceed with the planned selection and to include all necessary
funding for HLS in your FY 2022 budget request.

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