NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine assured the public that the budget allocated for the International Space Station (ISS) will not be affected by the funds needed for the space agency’s upcoming Moon mission. Bridenstine made the statement in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s lunar budget proposal that involves cutting the funding for the ISS.

As NASA scrambles to prepare for a crewed mission to the Moon by 2024, critics doubted the agency’s capability of proceeding with the project due to various budget constraints. The monetary issue became even more complicated after Trump suggested cutting the funding for the ISS in order to allocate a budget for NASA’s future lunar mission.

During a recent conference in Atlanta, Bridenstine clarified that NASA has no intention of sacrificing the support that the ISS receives just to fund the Moon mission. Although the project requires a hefty budget, Bridenstine maintained that the ISS is still a vital component in NASA’s space exploration initiative.

“Going to the Moon is not cheap,” he said according to Space.com. “If you cannibalize science, if you cannibalize the ISS, you will never achieve the end state you desire.”

Bridenstine made the statement after NASA’s 2020 budget request amendment was approved, which awarded the agency with an additional $1.6 billion. A huge chunk of the budget will be allocated to the development of human landers that will be used in the Moon. This equipment will also aid in the creation of landers for the future Mars missions.

Through the newly secured budget, NASA will be able to proceed with its plans to return to the Moon as well as to continue the operations of the ISS. Bridenstine noted that aside from NASA, humanity also benefits from the remarkable experiments carried out aboard the orbiting space station.

“What’s happening inside the [ISS] has the potential to transform – it is transforming – lives on Earth,” Bridenstine said.

“The reality is that we can do things in space that we can’t do on Earth,” the NASA official added. “We’ve seen some very promising technology and capabilities that have the opportunities to change lives on Earth.”

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
NASA hints about women going to the Moon and Mars. Pictured: In this handout photo provided by NASA, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine talks to employees about the agencys progress toward sending astronauts to the Moon and on to Mars during a televised event at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on March 11, 2019 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Aubrey Gemignani/Getty Images
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