lunar missions just don't seem to inspire the public imagination any more (notwithstanding the Chinese mission, or our Artemis effort). Rightly or wrongly, the moon does not appear to hold much interest as a destination in its own right, it is seen more as a stepping-stone to somewhere else, or as a staging area to test out new techniques and systems. I personally, would prefer other, more ambitious missions into the solar system. A lunar settlement program would be like the Shuttle, or the French Carte du Ciel: a valuable effort, but one that would drain resources and interest from everything else--and eventually, a technological cul-de-sac. I recognize that many knowledgeable authorities and experts disagree with me, but, there it is.

Finding areas of habitability, or resources (such as ice) is good news for those who wish to colonize the moon, but I think most space enthusiasts feel our efforts should be directed to new destinations and targets. Again, I emphasize this is just my opinion, but I also think it is an opinion shared by many space enthusiasts. I believe the really big surprises and discoveries are further away, farther out. The moon is just another lump of slag whose major attraction is that it is nearby. No doubt there are reasons to go there, but the Mother Lode is probably elsewhere. Somewhere in the Solar System is the big MacGuffin that will cause space exploration to really explode.

Personally, if manned space travel is the ultimate goal, I would prefer to see more missions to the asteroid belt, comets, or other solar system sites. I would also like to see another space station with an orbit optimized as a staging area for assembling multi-ship manned deep space missions. The moon is a gravity well, you can't land there without burning fuel and you can't launch cheaply from there. You can't rely on the old colonial maritime model, where you set up a rear base in the outskirts of the New World, and us it to develop forward bases deeper in. Our Havanas, Manilas and Jamestowns need to be in places where its easy to land and take off from.