Does the future of space travel matter to you?

 

The Canadian-designed mechanical arm "Canadarm" in 2009 (NASA Photo)

 

China launched an experimental module into space on Thursday, marking a big accomplishment for a relative newcomer to the space race.

China entered the race in earnest in 2003, celebrated its first space walk in 2008, and has only accelerated its cosmic ambitions ever since. The country even plans to build its own space station.

You told us about your nostalgia for the early days of space flight but, in recent years, public interest in North America appears to be waning - particularly in the country that first sent a man to the moon.

In the days leading up to NASA's final shuttle launch in July, many headlines questioned the public's will to continue to push the frontiers of space travel and predicted a permanent decline in U.S. space leadership.

Meantime, Canadian astronauts are hitching rides with Russian Soyuz and engineers are talking space with countries like Japan as well as the commercial sector.

Do you care about the cosmos? Where are the best opportunities for Canadian astronauts and space engineers? Which country or company do you see as the next leader in space?

(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)