As far as getting us to the planets, how are NASA and the ESA doing so far?

Remember what they thought 2001 would look like back in the 60s?

Meanwhile, SpaceX, founded in 2002, has already put an Apollo-style capsule in orbit and recovered it. Bigelow Aerospace, founded in 1998, has two operational space station test modules in orbit right now. Suborbital tourism is only a few years away, and Burt Rutan and Paul Allen have begun work on an orbital system.

To date, SpaceX has spent in development (about $500 million) approximately what it cost NASA to pay for one Space Shuttle flight (about $450 million).

The private sector in space took off about 20 years later than I hoped it would, and the companies aren't the ones I hoped would be the vanguard (i.e. mine), but it's certainly a going concern now.

I would lay odds that the next people to fly around the Moon will be cash customers.