and it is still giving vital experience in construction & repairs in space. Also, as I realized when reading your reply,the ISS is a collaborative effort between countries and so is a sort of model for future expeditions to Mars. (I don't think those will be done by a single country - we could get to Mars a lot quicker if the US, Russia and maybe China could collaborate)

My original point was that, I'm glad the return-to-flight has been successful so the US can keep its commitments before going to the next step of Moon and Mars. Those could well be collaborations between countries but surely the US will play the leading role.

(This is all assuming the landing will go safely but I am assuming the in-flight tile checks have been very thorough ...)