"Raoul's image of NASA reasons"

They seem like questions a bureaucrat might
ask, but they are not reasons.
As I have stated before, I don't think the emphasis
should be on lunar bases

"Water, SETI, technologies for manned Mars flight, and possibly fuel for manned Mars flight are all secondary to CAPS and getting better cratering rates. "

I think that NASA should focus on things which are valuable
to the America public. I think it's quite possible that the Moon has trillions of dollars of water on it- determining whether this is true or not seems to me to obviously something which could be valuable to the public.
As I have said before, I don't think it would be NASA's job the mine water in the space environment. But I do think it's NASA's job to determine if such a resource exists.

As for comet/asteroid protection system and crater counting.

Well, first off, I also think their could be market related to asteroids- and you could also say that it's a "another" trillion dollar market. In water content alone asteroids are a trillion dollar market- but "space dirt" or the most seeming worthless material which are common as dirt, would also be a trillion dollar market.

Water in space is a trillion dollar market because with electrical power one can make rocket fuel. And with large quantities rocket fuel available at a reasonable cost- hundreds to thousands of dollars per lb- one opens the space frontier. It means we get affordable access to the Moon, Mars, Mercury, asteroids, comets, etc.
And also it begins a electrical power market in space which will lead to electrical power being beamed to the earth surface for Earthling consumption- which is another trillion dollar market.
Now, getting to the point of beaming electrical power to earth, means that the price of electrical power in Space will be "around" 5 cent per kwh or less. Today, a kwh of electrical power is "around" $50 per kwh or more.

Now at the moment IF one could get electrical power in space for $50-100 per kwh this is cheap/reasonable IF one had water to convert into rocket. If you have a free market, and you make rocket fuel in space, the cost of water and electrical power will drop in price. There are "oceans" of water in space and "oceans" of solar power- the lack of any shortage means the price and cost will drop in a free market- it will drop so far that water and energy will be cheaper in Space than on Earth- and know that water is practically free on Earth.
Let put it this way, when water in space is the same cost as water on Earth- the water market in space will *still* be a trillion dollar market.