A few years ago, Popular Science (I think it was) offered, as their number one recommendation to NASA, "Go somewhere!" I'm just thrilled that NASA appears to be taking their advice. Mars, the Moon...whatever. I kinda side with several of the people on this board who've suggested that our choice of destination is less important than our ability to travel. To my layman's mind, the Moon works just fine.
And was the demise of the Apollo program really contingent upon lagging public interest, or was it simply that the program had served it's primarily political purpose, namely getting America to the Moon before the Soviets? Once that was done, Apollo's capital was basically spent.
If this next phase has a larger purpose--say, to move America into the solar system, starting close to home and moving outward from there--then the goal is open-ended, and it'll be more difficult to say "There, we've done it, let's take our ball and go home."
I'm thrilled at the prospect. But, should the powers-that-be decide Mars is a better initial target, I'll be just as happy (though my knuckles will be somewhat whiter).
And if the entire enterprise turns out to be a government-sponsored monument, may it span the solar system and take several generations to build.
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