I have said the threat is NOT Russia, it is the export of their communist ideology. Communism is THE BIGGEST THREAT to the US in the world today. Communism from without and communism from within.
China is racing us and they going to pass us very soon.
"After a decade of secretive preparation, China disclosed plans yesterday to launch a manned spacecraft this year, an achievement the Communist government hopes will win it public support at home and respect abroad.
A successful launch would stand as a trophy to China's progress after two decades of economic reform. It would make this only the third nation -- after Russia and the United States -- capable of sending a human into space on its own."
http://www.post-gazette.com/world/20030103chinaspaceworld1p1.asp
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/china-00zzp.html
"China aims high with Mars mission
Dry, lifeless and red, the area around this remote settlement, from where the first Chinese astronaut will be launched into space — possibly later this year — looks like a Martian landscape.
It provides inspiration for an ambitious space program to conquer first the moon and then Mars. Despite the cost, estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars, and immense technical difficulties, China boasts that it will beat the United States with a manned mission to Mars."
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20020819-2309194.htm
"On the model Mars base, a row of oil derricks overlooks a long series of domes ready for human habitation."
I don't think NASA has one of these, do you?
"Twenty years ago, people of my parents' generation never thought they would be using computers today," he said. "In my lifetime, Chinese science is speeding up, and I'm sure I will land on Mars before 2040."
They are very determined, much more that America.