We must remain a nation of spacefarers, opinion, June Scobee Rodgers, Arizona Republic

"So now, there is a great national debate on the future of our space program. Do we go on to asteroids and then Mars, perhaps finding life on that tantalizing world, even if it takes decades to get there? Or do we focus on Earth, using the orbital perspective to see and steward our home planet and its resources? Perhaps we should fuel the creative energies of private space exploration. NASA's new direction certainly embraces that entrepreneurial spirit, including flying student experiments on new types of spacecraft. Perhaps this opens up "space exploration for the rest of us."