NASA need to team up with foreign space agencies

If the White House decides to return astronauts to the moon, NASA may have to look to Moscow, Paris, Tokyo or possibly even Beijing for help.

The reason: money. Without a massive increase in its budget, the agency won’t be able to send humans past the International Space Station anytime soon, according to a presidential panel that recently reviewed NASA’s manned space program.

Teaming up with foreign space agencies — as suggested by that 10-member panel — would significantly shift the direction of NASA, from overseer of a purely American push for the stars to part of a global science project funded by dollars, euros, rubles and yen.