An article about British moon exploration begs the question:
Britain could send its first un-manned mission to the moon by 2010 to study the lunar surface and find the best site for humans to inhabit, the BBC has reported.A report by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., a top British space company, found the cost of space travel had fallen enough to let the government consider such a probe, it said.
Why has the cost of space travel fallen enough for Britain and even China to consider moon missions? Because of one of the many invisible subsidies that America provides to the world free of charge: technological advancement. The world owes America an enormous debt for the knowledge we generate and the free dissemination we encourage, in addition to other invisible subsidies like military protection under the (fading) pax Americana.
