Rogers / 1 Senator Prough

S.B._____

A BILL
To approve additional funding for NASA during this fiscal year to support and foster the divisions of research and
technology focused on colonizing Mars.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Mark Watney Act of 2017.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) People are willing and ready to leave Earth for Mars.
2) In contrast to the Moon, Mars is rich in carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen, all in biologically readily
accessible forms such as carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen gas, water, ice, and permafrost.
3) A trip to Mars is technologically feasible, though currently beyond execution due to the cost of building
transportation and keeping astronauts alive for extended periods of time in space.
4) It is time for the next steps, and the agency is actively developing the capabilities that will enable humans to thrive
beyond Earth for extended periods of time, leading to a sustainable presence in deep space.
5) NASA has a requested budget of 19.0 billion dollars for 2017.
6) The Proving Ground, a state of the art training facility will allow both astronauts and prospective colonists to
prepare for the trip.
7) Humanity is one major meteor strike or solar flare away from extinction as it is limited to one medium-sized
planet in an average solar system.
8) Mars is capable of supporting human life with minimal changes to its atmosphere.
9) Mars is necessary in order to expand beyond the solar system due to its orbit and gravitational effect.
10) Much research already exists, all that is needed is the funding and technology necessary to transition the research
from theory to reality.
11) The Planetary Sciences division of NASA has an approved budget of 1.519 billion dollars for the fiscal year
2017.
12) The approved military defense budget for 2017 is 582.7 billion dollars.
13) NASA has developed the Dragon Booster, which will allow heavy loads to achieve orbit with low cost.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) The Mark Watney Act of 2017 shall approve a one time additional budget of 15 billion dollars for NASA. This
money will be apportioned between the Planetary Sciences division and the Space Launch System division with the
goal of jumpstarting technology and research that will allow NASA to keep on track with its proposed Mars One
mission in 2030. The money shall only be used for the stated purpose of transporting colonists to Mars. For the
purpose of this bill, transporting colonists to Mars is defined as successfully sending a manned mission both to and
from Mars, with reusable technology that will allow for other missions to the red planet.
B) Congress will be responsible for ensuring this Act is carried out to the full extent of its powers. The funding shall
come from the 71.8 billion dollar budget given to the military for its research and development accounts. The 15
billion dollars shall be given to NASA no later than 21 days after approved. At the end of the year, any unused or
undeclared money given to NASA by this bill shall be returned to the military within the same 21 day period. For
the purpose of this bill, undeclared money is defined as funding NASA has not either used or has not put into long
term research. Congress or a committee of Congress will be responsible for determining if money is undeclared
money when the time comes for NASA to return the budget. Should the committee's decision process take longer
than the 21 permitted days for NASA to return the funds, NASA will have 7 days from the decision to return the
funds.
C) The Mark Watney Act of 2017 shall be enacted on January 1, 2017 and shall be terminated on January 1, 2018.
Any failure by the military to give the money within 21 days or by NASA to return the money within the time
allotted shall result in a fine of 2 billion dollars as well as the full return of the funds to the other party.