Planetary Missions Program Office

The Planetary Missions Program Office was established in late 2014 as part of a series of changes implemented by NASA after the passage of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015, which allocated US$1.438 billion to planetary missions, and the Obama administration's request for the 2016 United States federal budget.

[7] Consistent cost overruns and lack of support from the United States Congress, however, created a trend towards smaller, less ambitious missions.

[14] After NEAR Shoemaker and Mars Pathfinder, the Discovery program began selecting its future missions from proposals from third-party institutions, in competitions named "Announcements of Opportunity" (AOs).

[40][41] The New Horizons mission was chosen to replace Pluto Kuiper Express in the OPSP program in November 2001,[42][43] though the entire program, including the Europa Orbiter, New Horizons, and Solar Probe, was cancelled by Administrator of NASA Sean O'Keefe in February 2002, shortly after his appointment by President George W. Bush.

"[44] The New Horizons team successfully lobbied for the funding and development of their mission, appearing at the top of the National Research Council's Planetary Science Decadal Survey for 2003–2013.

[40][41] Weiler and then-Solar System Exploration Division Director Colleen Hartman established the New Frontiers program in 2003 to help fund and launch New Horizons and future proposals from the Decadal Survey.

[41] New Horizons was launched as the program's first mission on January 20, 2006,[45][46] and successfully performed the first reconnaissance of Pluto and its moons in July 2015.

[47][48][49] An extended mission is underway to observe Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), including a flyby of 486958 Arrokoth in January 2019.

[67][68] However, the ESA Council at ministerial level cancelled the AIM mission in favour of funding for the ExoMars 2020 rover, citing budget concerns.