The New Space Race

IMHO, Space is for anyone interested in it, if the country just started then good for them, if they have been in it for a while, still good for them, as long as they have the knowledge, will, and means of doing it. I don't either think the idea "may seem laughable", the race long time ago was to be the First in space, first on moon, first in something, but we as Americans can't own space, we can't decide who can go up there or can't.
most of us have to realize something very important, there is tonnes of people out there in the world who can do as good as we did, they either have knowledge but lack in means, or have the means and lack the knowledge, but all of them have the will to do. And don't forget that these people where the pioneers in math, science and astronomy thousands of years ago.

For better or worse, space exploration is a matter of national pride. It's also a statement of military capability. After all, a rocket that can hit a spot on the moon can also hit an adversary's capital. Still, it's wasteful that the current paradigm is nation-vs.-nation. How many countries need to prove that they can spacewalk? How many missions - manned and unmanned - do we need to make to the moon before turning our full attention to the exploration of Mars?