The most expensive space project ever is the Apollo program: NASA told Congress in 1973 it cost $25.4 billion, which is roughly $264 billion to $288 billion in current dollars depending on the method (as of October 2026). The Space Shuttle (about $196 billion adjusted) and the International Space Station (about $150 billion) follow, and NASA’s Artemis campaign is projected at $93 billion for 2012 through 2025. Space programs are not auctioned, so this list ranks reported program costs. Figures differ by source and by inflation method, and we flag the basis in each entry.
| Rank | Project | Cost (USD) | Period | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apollo program | $25.4 billion then; about $264 to $288 billion adjusted | 1960 to 1973 | NASA figure; adjusted in 2019 dollars |
| 2 | Space Shuttle program | About $196 billion adjusted | 1981 to 2011 | Inflation-adjusted, through 2011 |
| 3 | International Space Station | About $150 billion | Assembled over more than a decade | Total as of 2010, all partners |
| 4 | Artemis program | About $93 billion | 2012 to 2025 | Projection by NASA’s Inspector General |
| 5 | Hubble Space Telescope | About $11.3 billion (2015 dollars) | Launched 1990 | Including servicing missions |
| 6 | James Webb Space Telescope | About $9.7 billion (NASA) | Launched 2021 | NASA lifetime cost, partners extra |
| 7 | Cassini-Huygens | About $3.26 billion | 1997 to 2017 | Press-kit total, then-year dollars |
| 8 | Curiosity rover | About $3.2 billion (2020 dollars) | Landed 2012 | Life-cycle cost |
| 9 | Galileo | About $3 billion | Launched 1989 | Single-source estimate, adjusted |
| 10 | Perseverance rover | About $2.9 billion | Landed 2021 | Life-cycle cost |
1. Apollo program: $25.4 billion then, about $264 to $288 billion now
Between 1960 and 1973 NASA put twelve men on the Moon and brought them home. The agency told Congress in 1973 that it cost $25.4 billion. An independent reconstruction of the budgets lands at $25.8 billion, within two percent of that number. Direct costs were about $20.6 billion, split between the spacecraft ($8.1 billion), the Saturn rockets ($9.4 billion) and development and operations ($3.1 billion). Facilities, tracking and overhead added about $5.2 billion more.
Adjusting for inflation is where the arguments start. Using what NASA would spend today, the same analysis gets $263.8 billion in 2019 dollars, or about $288 billion if you include the Gemini flights and the robotic lunar probes. Measuring it against the size of the economy instead produces $641 billion. We use the first method as our base.
2. Space Shuttle program: about $196 billion
Thirty years of service, 135 flights. NASA first estimated the Shuttle at $7.45 billion to develop and $9.3 million a flight. The final inflation-adjusted bill through 2011 came to about $196 billion. Divide that by the flights and you get roughly $1.5 billion a launch, which is the number to remember when someone says reusable rockets are cheap.
Our figure comes from the program’s own cost history, adjusted by the source to 2011 dollars. Another estimate puts it nearer $240 billion in 2025 dollars, so treat $196 billion as the floor.
3. International Space Station: about $150 billion
Often called the most expensive single object ever built. The 2010 total of about $150 billion covers NASA’s $58.7 billion for 1985 to 2015, Russia’s $12 billion, Europe’s $5 billion, Japan’s $5 billion, Canada’s $2 billion and the cost of 36 Shuttle flights that carried the pieces up. Europe’s Columbus module alone cost about €1.4 billion.
The number rests on a 2010 tally and leaves out most of the operating cost since, so the lifetime bill is higher.
4. Artemis program: about $93 billion
NASA’s Inspector General put the cost of the Artemis campaign at about $93 billion for fiscal years 2012 to 2025, of which about $53 billion falls in 2021 to 2025. The rocket alone, the Space Launch System, had cost $31.6 billion by 2025. The Inspector General priced each of the first four launches at around $4.1 billion for production and ground operations, not counting development.
It is the only program on this list that is still being written. Our figure is a projection and the final total will differ.
5. Hubble Space Telescope: about $11.3 billion
The original 1972 estimate was $300 million. By launch in 1990 the cost was about four times that, and servicing missions pushed the cumulative figure to about $11.3 billion in 2015 dollars, which makes it the most expensive science mission in NASA history on that basis. Ongoing operations are not included.
6. James Webb Space Telescope: about $9.7 billion
The early plan was a $1 billion telescope. Redesigns and delays took NASA’s lifetime cost to about $9.7 billion, of which $8.8 billion went into design and development and $861 million into five years of operations. Europe and Canada contributed roughly €700 million and CA$200 million. Webb launched in 2021.
7. Cassini-Huygens: about $3.26 billion
The Saturn mission cost $3.26 billion by its press-kit tally: $1.4 billion for pre-launch development, $704 million for operations, $54 million for tracking and $422 million for the launch vehicle. The United States paid 80 percent, Europe 15 percent and Italy 5 percent. The press-kit figures date from before the mission’s later extensions.
8. Curiosity: about $3.2 billion
NASA’s Mars rover has a life-cycle cost of about $3.2 billion in 2020 dollars. It landed in Gale Crater in 2012.
9. Galileo: about $3 billion
The Jupiter orbiter appears at about $3 billion in one inflation-adjusted ranking. Nothing else we opened gives a figure, so we hedge it and place it last among the three missions that sit within a few hundred million dollars of each other.
10. Perseverance: about $2.9 billion
The 2021 rover has a life-cycle cost of about $2.9 billion. It also shows why a mission can cost more than the machine: NASA paused its Mars Sample Return plan in 2023 after its cost estimate reached about $11 billion, which was judged infeasible.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- Artemis II launched on 1 April 2026, the first crewed Artemis flight, and splashed down in the Pacific on 11 April after about nine days around the Moon. NASA’s plan is now for Artemis III in late 2027 to be a crewed low-Earth-orbit test of docking with commercial landers rather than a landing.
- No program has overtaken Apollo. The cost of Artemis keeps rising, but at $93 billion it is still about a third of Apollo’s adjusted figure.
- Apollo’s own total is still debated: the Planetary Society puts it at $25.8 billion then, about $309 billion in 2025 dollars.
What drives these prices
- People cost more than robots. The three most expensive programs all carried astronauts.
- Length matters. The Shuttle and the Space Station ran for decades, so their costs are mostly operations.
- Redesigns multiply budgets. Hubble and Webb each cost several times their first estimates.
- Inflation method is a choice. The same Apollo bill is $264 billion or $641 billion depending on the yardstick.
- Partners are often left out. Europe, Japan, Canada and Russia pay for parts of the station and telescopes, and each source counts them differently.
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What was the most expensive space project ever?
The Apollo program, at $25.4 billion at the time and roughly $264 billion to $288 billion in current dollars.
How much did the International Space Station cost?
About $150 billion as of 2010, including all partner contributions and 36 Shuttle flights.
How much will Artemis cost?
NASA’s Inspector General projected about $93 billion for 2012 to 2025, and each of the first four SLS launches is priced at about $4.1 billion before development costs.
What is the most expensive telescope?
By lifetime cost, Hubble at about $11.3 billion in 2015 dollars leads the James Webb Space Telescope at about $9.7 billion.
Why do the numbers differ between sources?
Programs are measured in then-year or inflation-adjusted dollars, with or without partner contributions and operations.
Did Artemis II fly?
Yes. It launched on 1 April 2026 and returned on 11 April after a lunar flyby with four astronauts.
How we put this list together
We ranked space projects by reported total program or mission cost, using agency figures and published cost histories compiled in an internal valuation model. Costs are approximate, differ by inflation method, and change over time.
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Last updated: October 2026.
