The United States has been a global leader for decades. In the aftermath of the World Wars, the United States rose to the pinnacle of power, and has held the figurative crown of the world ever since.

In the area of space exploration and aeronautics, the story has not been much different. After the early successes of the USSR — which include the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, and the first manned mission to space — the United States took a commanding lead.

Our dominance of the skies reached its apex when we first landed a human being on the moon. The world watched, captivated, as an American flag was planted in soil no human had ever walked upon, hundreds of thousands of miles away from the only home our species had ever known.

Though our role has subsided, the field of space exploration is not dead. Recently, India launched a mission designed to send a probe to Mars. While the mission encountered some hiccups during the Earth-orbit portion of its flight, the undertaking will very likely result in the first Asian spacecraft landing on the surface of Mars.

Many commenters bemoan the United States space program as a shadow of its former glory. Instead of leading the charge into the uncharted depths of the universe, we now seem barely ahead of the pack — if we are ahead at all — in the space race.

Although this might be disappointing, it might not be the devastating problem some make it out to be. We absolutely performed monumental achievements in the heyday of our space program. Nothing can ever remove the wonder and awe that we collectively felt at our own potential when we boldly entered the final frontier.

For better or worse, that wonder and awe is gone. It is at best an interesting tidbit of news when we surpass some previously unreached goal in space or learn some new secret through our considerable off-world presence. It is no longer the earth-shaking, flag-waving moment that would have rocked our world decades ago.

This might partly be due to the decreased sense of competition we as a nation feel now that our long-time adversary, the USSR, is more or less a friendly power. It could also be caused by a desensitization to space-related achievements.

After walking on the moon, what is so special to the average American about discovering a six-tailed comet or learning that there are more near earth objects than previously thought?

While it was undeniably one of the greatest undertakings in world history, the American space program was about much more than making new discoveries and walking on different ground. The true value of our space exploits came in the form of a national identity they gave us; in the form of amazement young men and women had at the prospect of growing up to be an astronaut, a scientist, or an engineer.

Budget cuts to NASA and a rollback of our cosmic goals is often touted as evidence that we as a nation have lost our way. Unfortunately, just throwing money at a program that no longer captures our imagination is not a fool-proof plan to regain what we have now lost.

Yes, the work of NASA and other scientific agencies is important in and of itself and, yes, their programs should be remain funded to show our national support for science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

That continued support, however, will not be enough to return our nation to the undisputed prominence we once had. If we wish to make such a resurgence, it must come from a people that desire to see their country do well more than — or at least as much as — they desire to see themselves do well.

Perhaps a rejuvenated space program could again mold the United States together into a single, world-changing actor. Perhaps the age of such things left the world shortly after we did, never to return.