And I'll tell you why the U.N. turned down the use of the International Space Station, and why the U.S., Russia—or any other government for that matter—isn't really keen on launching new spacecraft or actively continuing space exploration.
It's because the world is coming to the realization that the life that exists in this universe—as incredibly likely it is for intelligent extraterrestrial life to exist in the Milky Way alone—is not necessarily going to be at-all friendly life. In fact, I read that Stephen Hawkings stated that the chance of life existing here is surefire, and that for now it is generally not a good idea to be broadcasting our existence with things like spacecraft and whatnot—let alone the mass radio waves that we produce from countless products where we don't have the power to quietly remove.