NRM: "The final mission of the space program, launched in July 8th 2011, left a significant void in the hearts and minds of anybody who was fascinated by the discoveries of the world beyond our own. But Ph.D astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has begged to differ, claiming that America's encouragement and interest in space exploration has been slowly dying off way before the previous manned spaceflight."
The asteroid zoomed by Earth at a perfectly safe distance of around 1.8 million miles (2.9 kilometers).
Engineers expect to lose contact with the private US moon lander Odysseus on Tuesday, cutting short the mission after its sideways touchdown last week.
NASA announced Tuesday that a $32.7 million Capstone spacecraft intended to try out a skewed lunar orbit had lost contact, but agency engineers are confident
