NASA Report Details How Agency Significantly Benefits US Economy

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA released Friday the results of its first-ever agencywide economic impact report. The report shows that, through all NASA activities, the agency generated more than $64.3 billion in total economic output during fiscal year 2019, supported more than 312,000 jobs nationwide, and generated an estimated $7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes throughout the United States.

"In this new era of human spaceflight, NASA is contributing to economies locally and nationally, fueling growth in industries that will define the future, and supporting tens of thousands of new jobs in America," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "With an investment of just one-half of 1% of the federal budget, NASA generates significant total economic output annually. This study confirms, and puts numbers, to what we have long understood - that taxpayer investment in America's space program yields tremendous returns that strengthen our nation on several fronts - a stronger economy, advances in science and technology, and improvements to humanity."

The agency commissioned an economic impact study to better understand how the U.S. economy benefited in FY2019 from America's lunar and Mars exploration efforts. The study found the agency's Moon to Mars exploration approach generated more than $14 billion in total economic output and supported more than 69,000 jobs nationwide in fiscal year 2019.

Additional key findings of the study include:

    --  Every state in the country benefits economically through NASA
        activities. Forty-three states have an economic impact of more than $10
        million. Of those 43 states, eight have an economic impact of $1 billion
        or more.
    --  The agency's Moon to Mars initiative, which includes the Artemis
        program, supports more than 69,000 jobs, $14 billion in economic output,
        and $1.5 billion in tax revenue. The agency's Moon to Mars programs
        provided about 22 percent of NASA's economic impact. These figures are
        expected to double in 2021.
    --  NASA has more than 700 active international agreements for various
        scientific research and technology development activities in FY2019. The
        International Space Station is a significant representative of
        international partnerships - representing 15 nations and five space
        agencies and has been operating for 20 years.
    --  NASA spinoff technologies provide an impact on American lives beyond
        dollars and jobs. The agency has recorded more than 2,000 spinoffs since
        1976. For example, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
        developed, in just 37 days, a ventilator specifically for coronavirus
        patients and, after securing an emergency use authorization from the
        Food and Drug Administration, made the design available to select
        manufacturers at no cost.
    --  Scientific research and development - which fuels advancements in
        science and technology that can help improve daily life on Earth and for
        humanity - enjoys the largest single-sector impact, accounting for 16%
        of the overall economic impact of NASA's Moon to Mars program.

The study was conducted by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement at the University of Illinois at Chicago. UIC has worked with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on economic impact reports conducted for the center and the Voorhees Center is widely recognized as one of the foremost organizations conducting economic impact studies for corporations, communities, and government agencies.

A summary of the study is available at:

https://go.nasa.gov/3cxsYlU

The full study available at:

https://go.nasa.gov/3i2tycr

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SOURCE NASA