NASA celebrated its 50th anniversary Wednesday -- and the space agency, like a lot of people who reach that milestone, is having a little trouble envisioning its future. NASA knows well enough what its long-term mission is: Go to the moon again, then to Mars and beyond. However, the problem NASA faces is more immediate. How to get there from here? Safety and money are big issues. The next U.S. president will have to answer those questions. Americans should hope that the answers and commitment of the new president are more in keeping with those of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower than the current occupant of the White House.

Busy with earthly wars

In 1958, President Eisenhower signed the law that created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, launching the agency on a daunting mission to lead the world in space flight and exploration. President Eisenhower supported and accelerated the goals, as did presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan and others who followed. President Bush also had ambitious plans for NASA. In 2004, he announced his Vision for Space Exploration program, which, in the wake of the Shuttle Columbia disaster, set goals for another visit to the moon and exploration of Mars.

But Congress has been stingy with NASA budgets, and President Bush, perhaps preoccupied with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, hasn't pushed his space agenda aggressively enough to make a difference.

Last week, Congress approved the NASA Authorization Act, a stopgap measure that keeps the agency going at current spending levels. The bill, in effect, passes the baton for NASA's future to the next president. It has a ''take no action'' provision that prevents NASA from shutting down the shuttle program before April 30. This gives Congress and the next president time to resolve safety issues and decide on new funding for NASA, which the agency will need to get through a five-year gap between the shuttle's scheduled retirement in 2010 and 2015 when replacement spacecraft is supposed to come on line.

Shutting down the shuttle during the five-year gap would seriously damage NASA and America's prestige and leadership in space exploration.

For starters, it would cut off U.S. access to the International Space Station, a project in which the United States has invested more than $100 billion and for which we have promised support to several international partners. It would be hard to justify throwing away such a costly investment and reneging on U.S. partnerships, but some members of Congress have been reluctant to support a program they see as costly and error-prone.

Get agency back on track

Dismantling the shuttle program, however, would have aftershocks. It would be an economic disaster for Florida and the communities around the Kennedy Space Center near Titusville that depend on the $4 billion that NASA spends annually in the state.

The most harmful effect, though, would be the damage to America's image as a leader in explorations that have answered fundamental questions about our planet, solar system and universe, and triggered the world's curiosity about what remains to be discovered. On a more practical level, NASA's flights and explorations have resulted in scores of medical and technological advances. With China, India, Japan and other countries joining in the explorations and making impressive strides, America cannot afford to fall behind now.

Dealing with wars and economic turmoil will be foremost on the agenda of the next president. Getting NASA back on track can help revive the national spirit toward a common purpose.

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