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"NASA will likely venture out into the universe on a slightly tighter budget in 2015, but the agency is still putting its focus on sending humans to space.\nMore than half of NASA's proposed $17.5 billion budget would go toward human exploration operations, the agency announced Tuesday, shortly after President Barack Obama unveiled his own 2015 budget proposal, which describes his vision for NASA.\nSee also: 6 Obscure NASA Sites Every Nerd Has to See\n\"This budget also continues to build on our nation's record of breathtaking and compelling science discoveries and achievements in space,\" NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement, \"with science missions that will reach far into our solar system, reveal unknown aspects of our universe and provide critical knowledge about our home planet.\"\nOne of the keys to NASA's ambition to send humans deeper into space is new heavy lift rocket and Orion capsule, a crew-carrying vessel. The rocket, which is currently under development, is designed \"to take astronauts farther into the solar system than we have ever gone before,\" NASA said, and it will be a vital step in NASA's goal to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars in the 2030s.\nNASA also plans to use the funds to fulfill Obama's promise to extend funding for the International Space Station, which Bolden described as a \"springboard to deep space,\" for at least four years through 2024.\nIn addition to money for exploration missions, the proposal includes nearly $5 billion for scientific research. NASA said that money will allow it to hit its target of a 2018 launch for the James Webb Space Telescope, said to be 100 times as powerful as its predecessor, the Hubble. Bolden called the telescope \"the most incredible astrophysics instrument that humanity has ever seen.\"\nDetecting asteroids that may be hazardous to Earth is a prominent part of Obama's proposal for NASA, which his budget called \"high priority\" mission. NASA is currently working on a plan to \"identify, capture and redirect\" an asteroid.\nSee also: The Hunt for Killer Asteroids\nThe search for extraterrestrial life is also part of NASA's proposal. NASA said it hopes to begin to form a plan to explore Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. In recent years, scientists discovered what they believe to be geysers on Europa's surface. These geysers could provide clues to whether Europa's vast underground oceans are harboring life.\nNASA CFO Beth Robinson called the Europa mission \"very challenging\" and said the agency has set aside $50 million to start planning the mission, which they hope to launch in the mid-2020s.\nBolden emphasized that NASA's proposed budget is in line with the 2010 NASA Authorization Act, a bipartisan law that establishes a \"commitment to human exploration goals.\"\nCongress passed a $17.6 billion budget for NASA in 2014, slightly less than the $17.7 billion budget Obama recommended.\nIn addition to the proposed $17.5 billion, NASA has proposed an addition $886 million in spending under Obama's proposed Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative, which the Obama administration described as a \"roadmap\" provided to Congress for additional spending considerations.\nYou can view NASA's full 2015 budget presentation here, which illustrates the proposal's highlights and provides more details on how the funds will be split up between missions and initiatives.\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.\nBONUS: 20 Epic Space Photos From Astronaut Chris Hadfield\n\n\n20 Epic Photos From Astronaut Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAntipodes Islands - April 7\n\n\"Antipodes Islands, looking like an island flag.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIstanbul, Turkey - April 7\n\n\"Istanbul, Turkey at night, historic vital crossroads, clear as can be.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNew York City - April 6\n\n\"Morning in NYC. Downtown Manhattan casts quite a shadow.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNew Zealand - April 3\n\n\"I, for one, appreciate a healthy moustache, like this one inching along over New Zealand.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFogo, Cape Verde - April 2\n\n\"Fogo, Cape Verde - a volcano so big it peaks above the Atlantic. Last active 18 years ago.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nUnnamed Pacific Island - April 2\n\n\"A island off the Pacific coast of Mexico spins clouds into swirls of lace.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRising Moon - March 29\n\n\"While looking for the approaching Soyuz, I caught a glimpse of another orbiting body in the distance.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStorm From Space - March 25\n\n\"An angry thunderstorm stands out against infinity.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNewfoundland, Canada - March 22\n\n\"A gyre frozen into the ice, Newfoundland, Canada.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDubai - March 20\n\n\"Some of the things we build for ourselves are puzzlingly visible from space. Such as the islands of Dubai.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHoms, Syria - March 20\n\n\"Homs, Syria. Currently enveloped in fighting - an uncertain future layered upon a storied past.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSouth Africa - March 18\n\n\"The Earth's fault lines are especially visible from orbit, like this one in South Africa.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSoyuz Departure - March 16\n\n\"Soyuz departing - Oleg, Kev &amp; Evgeni passing underneath Space Station on their way home after 5 months.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKalkan, Turkey - March 9\n\nCommander Hadfield had only one comment for this photo: \"!\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCalcutta, India - March 5\n\n\"Kolkata (Calcutta), India. 14 million of us living closely together on the Hooghly River in a huge developed wetland.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWaiting for SpaceX Dragon - March 3\n\n\"Like a Praying Mantis, Canadarm2 poised to reach out and grab Dragon.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPyongyang, North Korea - Feb. 28\n\n\"Pyongyang, North Korea. A shrouded city of much global concern. In stark contrast with the South, not too far away.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nZero-Gravity Bubble - Feb. 13\n\n\"Air and pepper oil suspended in a water blob. I blew on it to make it wiggle.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBorder of Israel and Egypt - Jan. 18\n\n\"A rare space sight. Most borders are invisible from orbit. This one between Egypt and Israel isn't.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOuadane, Mauritania - Jan. 16\n\n\"Undoubtedly one of the coolest space sights on Earth, the Richat Structure of Mauritania.\"\nImage courtesy of Chris Hadfield\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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