When we talk about the Space Race, it is amazing how little media coverage that we see about other nations and all that they are doing. We see our own space shuttle take off and land and we hear about the ISS or International Space Station, and the Hubble Space Telescope, even the rover on Mars, but have you ever wondered what advances the Chinese are making for instance?

Well did you know that the Chinese have been busy mapping the moon terrain using sophisticated lasers that measure down to less than a meter? Or did you know that the Chinese are launching a Mars probe to do the same thing later this year, one which will be sent into space on Russian Rockets? They will be looking for water and measuring the surface. China even is building a space capsule that can dock with the International Space Station.

Could it be that we here in the US are having our attention diverted from what else is going on in space? It appears we have some competition out there, and we are getting more of it every day. Once the United States dominated space technologies, today, we surely have the know-how, but we do not seem to be putting our financial backing behind it in the way that makes sense to keep up with our own achievements and accomplishments.

Space exploration is not something you finish, it is an on-going process, and if you stop, you will be passed by just like if you have a flat tire on the freeway, and decide not to fix it. Please consider all this.