People are forever asking why NASA cannot do things like it did in the 60s, when they went from nothing to planetary probes and the Moon landings in less than 10 years. Funding is not the whole answer. It is obvious enough today that equivalent funding does not produce anything like the kind of results we saw in the 60s.
We dare not speak the real answer.
actually, my experience in the ferociously corrupt world of Big Pharma has shown me that nasa’s problem is corporate progressive dementia. all large corporations eventually break down, as do all large nations. it’s part of the circle of life.
nasa lost its way when it surrendered its soul to whomever needed a space shot to advance corporate profits. today, there is no soviet union to battle, but there is always money, money, and money...with much of it coming from overseas...