Why the HELL haven't we gone back to the moon yet?

[crossposting reduced to groups for which this is at least somewhat
on-topic.]

I'll answer that question with another one: why is it that we all
think Apollo was a wonderful achievement, while many of us (myself
included) think ISS should just be let deorbit rather than waste any
more money on it? What's the difference?

The difference is that with Apollo, _people were wise enough to quit
while they were ahead_. Fly six missions - enough to prove it wasn't a
fluke, and do everything that needed doing - and bow out gracefully
before the sparkle wears off.

_A_ space station (i.e. Skylab) was worth doing, to answer the
questions "can people stay healthy without gravity?" and "is there
anything useful or fun for people to do in low earth orbit?".
(Unfortunately the answer to both questions is no, but that's the way
the cookie crumbles; it was worth finding out.) Endlessly repeating
the "put a cramped unhealthy camping trailer in low orbit for no
apparent reason" thing just turns it from a great adventure into
something the world can see is a dreary, pointless mess. Sending
people back to the moon right now would do the same to Apollo - it
would spoil the memory. Don't do it.

Will it ever be time to go back to the moon? Yes - when we can build a
self-sufficient colony in space, rather than just look around and go
home again. Transport (better ships, cheaper access to space) is _not_
the limiting factor on that. If we want to bring closer the time for a
return to the moon - to stay - then the thing to do is work on the
technology we'll need for self-sufficiency. Until then, let's work on
things that _haven't_ been done before.

--
"Always look on the bright side of life."
To reply by email, remove the small snack from address.