Will the people and the media start clamoring and yelling for NASA to get up there. Will they call for investigations on why we allowed our "lead" in space to be surpassed?
Our space program has no vision. (at least the leadership has no vision).
A little competition is good. A friendly rivalry is better than a military rivalry. I would think it is good for both sides.
We should have had a permanent manned scientific research center/observatory on the lunar surface 20 years ago.
Meanwhile many in American are doing the chicken over cross burnings and what some big government bozo said at a birthday party, while our big government winks at millions walking into our country illegally, while our high tech positions are replaced by McJobs.