[Future Snake Eater]

It may have been a reasonable question, but this funding is far better spent on space exploration than say welfare or benefits for illegal aliens.

Not if it's being unceremoniously dumped down a similarly-shaped commode. Just because our tax dollars are being spent on one group that we're interested in rather than a group we have little to no interest in doesn't necessarily mean it's being well-spent. We need results, we need direction, we need a goal. Right now, NASA is offering none of the above.

[RightWhale]

We need results, we need direction, we need a goal.

The Pres is supposed to issue a fresh goal statement for NASA in a couple of weeks. They will ramp up spending 7%, but more important, they will be directed to head back to the moon. Not necessarily to land on the moon anytime soon, but to head that direction. Of course, coming about the time of Rover 2, if that is also successful, he might pump up the Mars program as well. It is time to raise the sail and go someplace.