I had very high hopes, until the Obama administration slashed NASA's budget, canceling the projected Moon revisit and the Constellation Program. I still believe that Man will revisit the Moon though. It is too great of an opportunity to pass up, especially from a militaristic standpoint. I could foresee a revisit in my lifetime, but I think it will become more realistic after new propulsion technologies become available. As it stands with current rocket propulsion, it costs millions of dollars just to send one gram of weight into orbit.
Honestly, it was kind of a miracle that we ever got to the Moon in the first place. The computing power of the Apollo rockets is exceeded by modern calculators. There were much more tangible and horrifying threats to the country that the NASA budget could have been spent on. I think we would need another Cold War to get back to the Moon, or even to Mars. But like I said, I am optimistic.
Honestly, it was kind of a miracle that we ever got to the Moon in the first place. The computing power of the Apollo rockets is exceeded by modern calculators. There were much more tangible and horrifying threats to the country that the NASA budget could have been spent on. I think we would need another Cold War to get back to the Moon, or even to Mars. But like I said, I am optimistic.
