re: Speaking of returning men to the Moon, here is a great idea...
I don't think it was the mere presence of a female teacher onboard the Space Shuttle Challenger that caused it to be destroyed.
I have read how women are actually better than men in certain physiological cases for space travel than men. The Mercury 13 certainly did just as well and in some cases better than their male counterparts.
The Universe doesn't care about the gender of who explores it.