Chris Carberry is CEO of Explore Mars, Inc. and author of "The Music of Space" and "Alcohol in Space." Joe Cassady is Director, Civil Space at L3Harris as well as Executive VP of Explore Mars, Inc. They contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
The United States appears to be entering the golden age of space exploration. Over the past few years, the nation has conducted an unprecedented number of launches, countless space hardware developments, and notched innumerable other milestones. Nevertheless, despite these accomplishments, the United States could lose its decades-old leadership in space exploration and technology to China.
