Editorial: Reinvigorated space program would reflect America's global leadership.

In a column for the Washington Times (4/11), Eric R. Sterner, former associate deputy administrator for policy and planning at NASA, writes, "This year, during its 50th anniversary," NASA "finds itself at a crossroads."  Since 2004, the goal of the agency has been to "return Americans to the moon and send them to Mars," but NASA now "finds itself under-funded, over-constrained, and subjected to programmatic second-guessing."  Sterner argues that "the space program is intimately tied to the reality and perceptions of America's global leadership.  To ignore this...is to underestimate the importance of space exploration."  Sterner explains that NASA "has long contributed to the development of new technologies and created opportunities for scientific research." Therefore, a "reinvigorated space program" would stimulate "professional education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics -- critical to the long-term competitiveness and national security of the United States."  Sterner concludes that "the high visibility of returning to the moon offers an opportunity to build the kind of 'soft-power' that serves America's long-term national interests."