Ice on the moon a "game-changer"

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by dar512

At some point in time, the neighbor of your ancestors said the same thing to one of your ancestors before they left for the New World.

Strawman. :p

We're still benefiting from the 60s space program - better electronics, materials etc. We don't know just how much we'd learn from going to the moon -- that's one of the reasons to go.

tw already exploded that myth. And Tang was around before the space program.

The space program is a tiny fraction of the US budget. And it pays off in many ways. I think it's worth it even if the only payoff is the satisfaction of having done it.

Satisfaction? We've already done it, I'm already satisfied.
We've seen enough, and without sending people there, can find out more than we need to know about the moon. The only reason to go back is to exploit it, mine it. But there's nothing there we can't get here... cheaper. There's no environment there, we can't duplicate here... cheaper.
This is nothing but a giant, expensive, dangerous, ego stroking, for a few space geeks.
Don't think so? How many people watched the last half dozen Gemini shots on TV?