How can NASA structure a balanced space program geared toward innovation and discovery?
A2: NASA’s contribution to human spaceflight has been enormous. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, it remains the anchor player in this field—especially when one considers that NASA’s budget of $18 billion is higher than all the foreign space budgets combined—and should be able to aggregate partners in new ways and toward new goals, such as a return to the Moon. Further, human spaceflight remains the most inspirational activity within NASA. Every kid dreams of becoming an astronaut. The ISS is at the heart of NASA’s leadership on human space exploration. Indeed, with the ISS now fully operational, it has to be utilized to prepare the future—the future of launch infrastructure beyond the shuttle and the future of international cooperation. With the emergence of new space-faring nations, such as China and India, the NASA administrator will need the full support and personal involvement of the president to take the next steps, just as previous presidents were involved in the inception
