NASA's $18.7-Billion Budget: How Much Do You Contribute?

The Obama Administration just announced its budget proposal for the 2012 fiscal year: The total budget is $3.73 trillion, and $18.7 billion of that will go to funding NASA. But how much are you, personally, contributing to space exploration?

We did the math, and it turns out that a little more than half a penny of every federal tax dollar ends up at NASA. That means that a family with the median household income ($49,777 according to the U.S. Census Bureau), which pays $6,629 of federal taxes, pays the space agency ...

$33.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Partner website

For the science geek in everyone, Live Science breaks down the stories behind the most interesting news and photos on the Internet, while also digging up fascinating discoveries that hit on a broad range of fields, from dinosaurs and archaeology to wacky physics and astronomy to health and human behavior. If you want to learn something interesting every day, Live Science is the place for you.