[ Planetary exploration is still a government endeavor.
The likes of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is not a business model. It is basic research.
That said, routine functions like low earth orbit should be done by private contractors. ]
Agreed, space exploration should be like Lewis and Clark, the government sends the explorers and then behind that ever expanding sphere is a sphere of private space industry.
The problem with the NASA has been run has been the cronies want to stay in low earth orbit as that is the one area they can keep milking the government cash cow most efficiently...
Space exploration is a national security issue as there are some very good resources out in space that need protecting and can later be exploited, from communications and GPS now, to asteroid mining and orbital solar power generation later.
Spending money on NASA is a far better use than paying welfare bums, both in the hood and in the boardrooms...
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- But NASA is now run “from his ass” by Hussein 2 Junior and we are depending on the Russkies for taxi service while Hussein 2 Junior continues to create problems with Vlad Putin -