In fact, life on Earth is continuously improving because of the nation’s investment to fund NASA’s missions, programs, and projects here on Earth, in the skies, and among the stars. It isn’t just technological advancements, increased knowledge, and quenching the thirst for discovery that result from these programs. NASA directly stimulates economic growth and development throughout our nation. To better understand this impact, NASA commissioned a comprehensive analysis of the Agency’s economic impact both to the nation as a whole and to individual states for fiscal year 2019 (FY19).
With a budget of $21.5 billion, only 0.5% of the overall federal budget, NASA generated an economic output of more than $64 billion in FY19, tripling the nation’s initial investment. Truly a national endeavor, every single state benefited economically from NASA activity. Forty-three states saw an economic impact of $10 million or greater, while eight of those states received an impact of $1 billion or more.
This report, conducted by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement at the University of Illinois at Chicago, recognized as one of the foremost organizations conducting economic impact studies, found that NASA supports more than 312,000 jobs nation-wide. These jobs come in the form of not only civil servants and government contractors, but also the doctors, schoolteachers, dining and retail workers, and others necessary to support the nation’s mission.
NASA employees, as well as the people in the aforementioned jobs, spend money in their communities producing significant tax revenues. In total, NASA generates an estimated $7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. This tax revenue is equal to nearly a third of NASA’s FY19 budget allotment.
NASA’s Artemis program aims to achieve a continued presence at the moon where we will learn what we need to know to send humans on to explore Mars.
In FY19, NASA’s Moon-to-Mars programs generated $14 billion in economic output, supported nearly 70,000 jobs, and produced $1.5 billion in tax revenue. And thanks to the historic support of President Donald Trump, NASA’s economic impact will grow even more as we prepare to land humans on the Moon in 2024.
Access to the heavens is something humans have longed for as long as they have looked to the night sky in awe. Currently, the global space economy is exploding with growth and has potential for significant increases. Governments in 81 nations spend more than $85 billion and employ more than one million people in space-related industries. The emerging space economy is valued at over $400 billion and is well on its way to becoming a trillion-dollar industry in the coming years.
NASA takes considerable pride in our efforts to improve the quality of life on Earth. As such, we develop hundreds of innovative technologies every year that are then transferred to the private sector. NASA technology is everywhere and touches American lives well beyond just dollars and jobs.
NASA is making a difference. The American taxpayer’s investment in NASA missions and programs is paying dividends to our nation as well as the world. As NASA continues to make strides in achieving our goals of exploring the heavens, we will also continue our commitment to be good stewards of the nation’s investment and do our part to keep the economy thriving.