Scrap NASA?

Former Apollo astronaut and Moonwalker and former U. S. Senator from New Mexico Harrison Schmitt says NASA should be dismantled and replaced by a new agency focused on space exploration. Schmitt acknowledges NASA has some remarkable achievements to its credit, but argues that after fifty years a new start for a new era would be best.

NASA should be reformed and refocused, but replacing it and starting from scratch would probably waste money. It's not obvious, after all, why Congress would give more money to a new space exploration agency than it gives NASA. The problem isn't NASA. The problem is that Congress doesn't give space exploration a high priority. There is also the matter of staffing a new agency. Because of the specialized skills and knowledge required for space exploration, a new agency would probably be peopled by many ex-NASA hands. It's not clear, therefore, what advantage a new agency would have over a rejuvenated NASA.