The New Space Race - in Asia

By BJ

India just launched an unmanned mission to the Moon, where its probe is set to join those launched by Japan and China.  China, of course, recently launched its third manned mission and included a spacewalk among its feats.  Even South Korea is eying the lucrative satellite launch business, and where India goes, Pakistan is sure to attempt to follow.

All are putting considerable resources into their space programs. looking at them as symbols of national prestige, much as the US and former Soviet Union did back in the day.  Those old workhorses, with their current substantial lead in this area, seem to be spending most of their time plugging away at the monstrosity of the ISS, and the US particularly is looking at a future without a manned space capsule for several years as the Shuttles go into retirement and they have no replacement on stream to replace it.

Outside of private ventures, space exploration in North America, with all of the attendant scientific advances that accompany such exploration, seems to have lost its luster.  I wonder if we'll live to regret that?