After previously supporting a drastic cut to NASA in order to provide more funds to education, it looks as if Senator Obama is now warming up to the needs of NASA.(SpaceRef) Develop the Next-Generation of Space Vehicles: The retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2010 will leave the United States without manned spaceflight capability until the introduction of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) carried by the Ares I Launch Vehicle. As president, Obama will support the development of this vital new platform to ensure that the United States' reliance on foreign space capabilities is limited to the minimum possible time period. The CEV will be the backbone of future missions, and is being designed with technology that is already proven and available.
While this is good news on the space front, his campaign seems to be more or less leaning towards robotic missions, rather than pondering if the US can once again visit the moon (and beyond).
Other candidates have expressed their opinions regarding space exploration, with Senator John McCain looking favorably upon sending humans towards Mars.
Even though the United States can depend upon the private sector (to a degree), it will take the cooperation of government and NewSpace if America intends upon beating China back to the Moon.
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