The second race to the moon is underway- and both contestants are American

Score another one for the Trump administration: we're not leaving the moon to the Chinese after all. Nor,  as the Obama administration had planned, will we be delaying our return to the moon and our trip to Mars into the somewhat distant future.

Both NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX have announced lunar missions for the next few years. NASA's will spend an extended time in lunar orbit; SpaceX will be content with a simple loop around the moon and return by two billionaires who will pay full fare for the trip.

But the immediate future of space is now a great deal more interesting.