ref. my reply to Bowser. In his case I acknowledge ego was a big factor, but not the prime motivator. In your case I guess I'm saying: if it could be done at all, by whatever means, let it be done asap. There was a great sense of ambition and possibilities back then which we lack now - beating the other guy to the finish line wasn't the whole deal.

As for the ballistic aspect - that shows how the technology grew out of WW2 and the Cold War. But at the same time, isn't it interesting that a certain point in the development in this technology, it became 'natural' or 'obvious' to use it to go to the moon?

The unmanned space program alone should be enough to show that space travel is about more than ego.