SPACE EXPLORATION: Oh, the places we could go. “The world sorely needs some kind of cosmic blueprint going forward, if indeed we are to go forward and outward, and though one can quibble with many details, this one is as good as any. One can fantasize that this show could have the same long-range impact on shaping public expectations in space as magazine articles and television shows did in the 1950s. In that case, I hope it travels to the other countries that are now flexing their space muscles, like China.”

Plus this: “’Somebody will do these things,’ Dr. Shara said. ‘Maybe not the U.S.’”