Meet the Invoice

What has it cost to uphold the NASA narrative? And what could we have done instead?

Since its official birth in 1958, NASA has consumed over $700 billion in public funds — with no signs of slowing. And yet, for that vast expenditure, what have we actually received?

Total Cost (1958–2024):

$700+ billion USD
(Adjusted for inflation, and climbing daily)

Current Budget (2024):

~$25.4 billion per year
→ That’s $70 million per day

Sample Projects & Costs:

Apollo Program: ~$250 billion (inflation-adjusted)
ISS: ~$150 billion and counting
Artemis Moon Return: Projected $93 billion (2020–2025) — still no boots on dust

Helium: NASA’s Hidden Line Item

What NASA Uses

NASA consumes approximately 75–100 million standard cubic feet (MMcf) of helium per year, mostly at Kennedy Space Center and Stennis Space Center for rocket propulsion, tank pressurization, coolant systems, and purging operations National Academies Press.
This constitutes roughly the largest single institutional share of global helium usage magnetica.com National Academies Press.

Estimated Annual Cost

In 2022–2023, NASA secured contracts for both gaseous and liquid helium supply, pricing between $900–$1,200 per MMcf depending on the contract type and purity nasa.gov+2helixexploration.com+2theoregongroup.com+2.
At 90 MMcf/year and ~$1,000/MMcf, this implies NASA spends around $90 million annually on helium alone.

Cost in Context

That’s roughly 4% of NASA's 2024 annual budget (~$25.4 billion), but dedicated solely to handling a single non-renewable resource.
Since global helium production is limited (~6 Bcf/year) and shrinking, NASA’s demand contributes heavily to market scarcity and price inflation

What Have We Got for It?

Grainy footage from the 1960s
A handful of photographs we can’t verify
A permanently “occupied” space station that never films stars
A string of “probes” sent to unreachable places
An Earth that still looks suspiciously CGI
Recycled dreams, decades late and billions deep

What Could We Have Done Instead?

With $700+ billion, humanity could have:

Provided clean drinking water to every human on Earth — 20 times over
Eradicated global hunger for at least 30 years
Built resilient, decentralised energy grids in every poor country
Funded free, non-corporate healthcare for millions — even in the U.S.
Transitioned entire cities to regenerative agriculture and food forests
Created open-source education and distributed knowledge tools globally

Instead…
We got green screens, foam rockets, and spinning wire harnesses on YouTube.

Closing Note:

“NASA taught us to aim for the stars. But maybe it’s time we aimed lower — somewhere near the truth.”