
Re: Only four left
"Time to step up to the plate again."
I totally agree. The last several U.S. Presidents have mentioned things like this. Let's hope the current one actually delivers on it.
A base on the moon would be ideal for a LOT of things, from sciency stuff to mining rare earth materials, and researching/developing more efficient means of travel to/from Earth and Moon.
NASA's moon race with USSR developed technologies that are STILL in use today. "Collateral Technologies" I guess you could call them. THIS ALONE is reason to do it. Keynsian economists should LOVE the idea. After all, you're creating jobs by "buying space stuff". [and when they don't buy 'space stuff', instead favoring "other kinds of spending" that include 'crazy trains' and 'bridges to nowhere' and "people who aren't looking for work", you know it's just the usual corruption and 'corporate welfare' and 'vote buying' going on instead of ACTUAL Keynsian economics].
So yeah, EU should be going to the moon, too. And UK [post-brexit]. I'd be *stoked* if there were a UK space program sending people to the moon. ('Thunderbirds are GO' - heh)
NASA, private industry, UK, EU, Russia, China, everyone going to the moon (and a '2001'-like ISS as a stopping off point would be a good addition, too). I think this would do nicely for the 21st century.