I agree that our dreams have been lost there, but I think a lot of that happened when the agency was hijacked for political purposes and lost sight of what in the public eye had been its mission...as trite as it sounds...
"To boldly go where no man has gone before..."
You're right, it does make me think. It makes me think we're broke and this is the kind of stuff that falls along the wayside when you're broke and you have to make cuts. Space programs, public television, the arts, ad nauseum. There are hundreds of programs that can make a case for themselves when times are good. Times aren't good anymore. Sorry.