"What this agreement represents is a breathing space, an interim period which the people of Afghanistan can take the first of many steps that will be required before a broad-based, multi-ethnic and truly-represented government can be established, " Brahimi added.

CNN: Afghan factions sign power deal

Instead, Mr Deuba's fully legal election decision gives him a six-month breathing space as head of an interim government, free of political interference, even though his party has tried to make things difficult by expelling him for three years.

ECONOMIST: A general election is called

For instance, there is no clear linkage between the details in the plan and the space exploration goals and priorities established by the administration in terms of sending astronauts to an asteroid as an interim destination before sending humans to orbit and eventually to land on Mars.

FORBES: NASA, Got Space Exploration? Get Goals, Get Funding and Get Uhura.

This precipitous decline in the quantity of Earth science and applications observations from space undertaken by the United States reinforces the conclusion in the decadal survey and its predecessor, the 2005 interim report (NRC, 2005), which declared that the U.S. system of environmental satellites is at risk of collapse.

FORBES: Losing NASA's Eyes in the Sky