re: Why the Moon?
Found in the forum: why the Moon?
(I met with the Moon Society in june 2002 at Delft, Holland).
It's indeed very likely unmanned landers will go back to the Moon and some might even have a comercial-private goal!
But humans on the Moon, with private funding? I'm afraid not only are private companies mainly interested in being cost -effective and expect a profit, but government sponsored projects alone can eventually achieve the dream of letting humans themselves do the exploring on the spot. And that would mean trying to convince those who decide and who can transfer the money.