[LibertarianInExile]

"NASA is worthless without a real challenge. They need a mission that is difficult enough to clear out the current layer of inept management while attracting new and capable talent."

Nope. The whole NASA concept needs put out to pasture. Space and research in general need to go back to private hands. If government wants pure research done, it should explicitly describe the functions that research is for from which government could really benefit, name a price it's willing to pay toward such a goal or item, and award it to the first person to come up with a practical method or invention.

Even that is unlikely to be a Constitutional use of tax dollars. If the private market doesn't want to do it, it usually ain't worth doing.

And don't get me started on all that Texas and Florida real estate sitting there going to little productive use.

[ARCADIA]

If the private market doesn't want to do it, it usually ain't worth doing.

The private market has never invested in raw research, or in massive new projects. NASA provides a vehicle to fund private research while shielding it from the legal risk of loss. How would you like to be the company footing the bill for the Columbia Disaster? Private can exploit technology and develop applications, but your overly idealistic if you think that it can tackle stuff like this.

Use NASA but fund it adequately to do the job; we do not need curators, we need innovation.