That would be a shame. I used to be very skeptical of NASA, but thinking ahead in the grand scheme of things, we really need to establish a significant presence off of our planet if we want to survive over the long term. Right now we are sitting ducks, with all of our eggs in one cosmic basket. Even if we could only colonize the Moon, that would certainly be better than nowhere. Right now, I think NASA is the best equipped at helping us get there, but the private sector should also be encouraged and given the freedom to help us get there as well.
Yes, there is waste in NASA, but when you think of all of the incredible, amazing exploration of space that has been done, most of the credit goes to them. There is no other organization like it. There should be more cooperation with the private sector, no doubt.
Colonizing the moon would be a logical start, I’m waiting for a picture of a chunk of ice, or some positive, conclusive proof that water ice does exist there in the shadows of the craters.
I think zero killed the funding for NASA’s planned exploration around 2020. Pity, when you think of how little it costs compared to most other government funded entities,
and we actually get somthing in return form NASA.