The United States has enjoyed a period of uncontested superiority in space exploration, and it’s about to end. Many other countries around the world are gearing up to join us in the pursuit of daring the vacuum. My personal opinion, the more the merrier, I think a greater emphasis on learning about our universe can’t be a bad thing. Read the full story San Francisco Chronicle
Lunar missions planned by nations worldwide include:

China: A lunar orbiter is being prepared for launch in 2007 or 2008, followed by lunar-landing probes and, after 2017, landings by astronauts.

Europe: A probe, Smart-1, is circling the moon. The European Space Agency hopes to send landing probes to our sister orb in later years.

India: Chandrayaan-1, a robotic spaceship, is scheduled for launch in September 2007. Its goals include orbiting the moon to map its minerals and seek frozen-water deposits that might be consumed by future astronauts.

Japan: A robotic probe, SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) is slated to visit the moon later this decade. However, its timing is uncertain because of repeated launch delays and the Japanese space program’s well-publicized technical problems of the past decade.

United States: NASA plans to launch its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in late 2008 as a prelude to President Bush’s goal to send American astronauts back to the moon, perhaps as soon as the second half of the next decade.