FY11 President's Submit - what does it mean for Space Biology?

The President's FY11 NASA overview budget can be found at

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/420990main_FY_201_%20Budget_Overview_1_Feb_2010.pdf.

The budget is vague with regards to our participation in the space program, but there are some encouraging aspects:

• $1.2 billion for transformative research in exploration technology that will involve NASA, private industry, and academia, sparking spin-off technologies and potentially entire new industries
• Increase annually the percentage of NASA higher education program student participants employed by NASA, aerospace contractors, universities, and other educational institutions.
• $183 million to extend operations of the ISS past its previously planned retirement date of 2016. NASA will deploy new research facilities to conduct scientific research and test technologies in space. New capabilities could include a centrifuge to support research into human physiology, inflatable space habitats, and a program to continuously upgrade Space Station capabilities.

Our FY11 messaging will show how intrinsic we are to achieving these priorities. I will post more detailed budget information as I receive more facts. Now is a good time to talk to commercial space providers too, and not just NASA.