Panel urges reducing NASA role in space launches

A White House panel of space experts, wrestling with questions about how to pay for expeditions to the moon and Mars, wants NASA to give private companies a broader role and a greater share of the financial burden.
The presidential commission will recommend that NASA’s role in missions be limited to “areas where there is irrefutable demonstration that only government can perform the proposed activity,” according to a summary of its conclusions obtained by The Associated Press.
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It also will recommend that Congress offer prize money as incentives for scientists who accomplish space missions or develop helpful technology. Already, the X Prize Foundation is offering a $10 million prize for the first privately financed manned spaceflight. Read More