There are several contributing factors into the decline of the
U.S. space agency, though immediate fixes are not evident. Even
though NASA has a long string of success, the unfortunate
shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, budget issues, and the
looming 2010 retirement of the current generation of space
shuttles are all complicating matters. "We spent many tens of
billions of dollars during the Apollo era to purchase a
commanding lead in space over all nations on Earth," NASA
Administrator Michael Griffin said. "We've been living off the
fruit of that purchase for 40 years and have not ... chosen to
invest at a level that would preserve that commanding lead."
Although Russia has been a long-time competitor to NASA, the
Chinese space agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA) have continued to make steady progress with its intended
goals. Along with multiple missions to Mars, China is preparing
for stage two of a three-part mission to the moon. The first
step in the plan, which is ongoing, included send