space science

But supporters of the space agency, such as Dr Barber fear that this will mean a loss of the agency's dynamic, proactive approach which has proved to be so successful for the UK's space science and its space industry.

Fascinating results — the data from space science missions — fires the imagination.

Taking a blowtorch to space science would also have little effect on the federal budget while setting back American leadership in space — and the inspiration it provides across political divides — by generations.

Professor Mark Burchell, Professor of Space Science at the University of Kent, told the New Scientist magazine that a Moon hit would be "a great experiment and a perfect opportunity".

“One of the most significant discoveries in planetary science and astrophysics over the past decade has been the realization that icy moons hold the largest reservoir of liquid water in our solar system,” Baptiste Journaux, research professor of Earth and Space Science at the University of Washington - Seattle, said.