Released on February 9, the Obama Administration's final budget request has offered $19 billion for the US space agency NASA in fiscal year 2017. It has seen a $300 million decrease from the agency’s final 2016 budget.

In addition to the overall cuts, the budget, as proposed would transfer some funds from NASA's exploration programs to aeronautics and space technology. It would also shift funds within the science account of the agency.

Congress could oppose the budget request, as House and Senate leaders have already said that the overall budget request of the administration will be considered dead on arrival. The NASA proposal’s elements may also face congressional scrutiny.

The biggest cut will be faced by exploration systems, which would get $3.3 billion in the proposal, decreased about $700 million from the final omnibus bill. The preliminary budget fact sheet hasn’t separated funding for the two largest programs in exploration systems that is the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System.

Industry groups have already criticized that aspect of the proposal. In a statement, Mary Lynne Dittmar, executive director of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, said, “We are deeply concerned about the Administration’s proposed cut to NASA's human exploration development programs. This proposed budget falls well short of the investment needed to support NASA's exploration missions”.

The agency’s science programs would get $5.6 billion, effectively same as 2016. But, Earth science would see a rise of $111 million while planetary science would be reduced by about an equal amount.

Space technology is the winner in the budget as the budget has proposed $827 million for that program, increasing it by a $140 million from 2016. According to the fact sheet, that funding would be used for a number of programs, ranging from satellite servicing to expansion of solar electric propulsion.