Lunar News Network

Russian Tech Aids Moon Effort

How would you feel about using Russian technology to advance the mission to return to the Moon? According to this report (Westfall Weekly News - Russia, U.S. sign space deals) a deal has been negotiated to add some Russian instruments to the lunar and Martian probes:

Russian and U.S. space chiefs signed agreements Wednesday to cooperate on unmanned missions that would search for potential water deposits beneath the surface of the moon and Mars. The agreements signed by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and Russian Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov deal with putting Russian instruments on board NASA probes that would be sent to the moon and Mars.

Sputnik Anniversary

The past, present and future of space exploration are considered in this look back at Sputnik (Space - 50 Years of Spaceflight: Astronauts Ponder the State of Exploration):

Sputnik's first flight and the advancements that led to Gagarin's launch and NASA's Apollo landings marked a pivotal point for human exploration, one that has led to a permanent presence for astronauts aboard the ISS.

The Wrong Stuff?

MSNBC - NASA chief: China will beat US back to moon:

“I personally believe that China will be back on the moon before we are,” NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said in a low-key lecture in Washington two weeks ago, marking the space agency’s 50th anniversary, still a year away.

“I think when that happens, Americans will not like it. But they will just have to not like it.”

Griffin’s candor startled many in the space community, but insiders acknowledge the reality. China has pulled off two manned spaceflights with its own rockets and is eager to head for the moon.

This is an incredibly discouraging mindset for the NASA administrator to have. I wonder how effective he can be in leading the U.S. space program when he has this kind of attitude?  Don't we need someone with a "can-do" attitude, someone willing to do everything possible to focus national attention, interest, and funding on the larger goals of space exploration? Or, perhaps he is merely playing the China in an attempt to rouse our competitive spirit?