For us 'Trekkies', President Obama's decision to cut NASA's projected next moon shot is a tragedy.

It cannot be, surely?

Weeping aside, perhaps the world might like to consider a far more adventurous 'leap' – interstellar travel.

There is, in place, a power source that could well drive a space ship up to and beyond the speed of light.

To whit – nuclear power.

In theory, controlled explosions, of greater and greater mega-tonnage in a cup shaped rear appendage to a space ship might power it gradually up to light speed.

Indeed, why have just the one appendage?

A cluster of them would boost the vehicle, in theory, to incredible speeds very rapidly.

10 megaton, followed by 20, followed by 30 followed by 40, etc. Each explosion occurring as the vehicle reaches its ultimate speed for each blast.

Before any such vehicle could be sent off – manned or unmanned – a known earth type planet circling a distant star, would need to be the target. This has yet to be discovered, but no doubt it will be as more powerful orbiting telescopes are created. Nuclear power is probably the most powerful impulsion source humankind is going to discover.

So, harness it for the 'greatest leap ever'.

Also, what's all this rubbish about nations competing with nations to be first? It is the human race that is going to conquer space. The efforts of all nations should be employed to do this. Not just some greedy country like the US with its delusions of imperial grandeur and fantasy of 'leading the world'.

The UN ought to have an interstellar division, research centres, launch sites, contracts to industries round the world. All the nations contributing to it financially, scientifically and materially.

Forget national competition, it's right out of the ark, causative of more suffering than the squabbles of religions, religious factions and flawed political ideologies.

If the world's resources were tapped, not just single countries' limited resources, the likelihood of achieving this goal would be much higher. But, of course, the science and technology of the project is another matter.

TONY CULVER Wellsway, Bath