Sense Of History

"For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon - We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!"
If you're having trouble deciphering the thought process behind that burbled statement, consider the source: Expert on Everything, Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah, our "president." He made this utterance using the space-age convenience of Twitter a month ago, but his mind never rests. More's the pity.
Yes, it has been half a century since the Americans put a man on the moon. And then we proceeded to do it a few more times, just to make sure that we left no gray rock unturned. Since then, we have been spending our space capital on a bunch of unmanned missions to various corners of our solar system, collecting data and attempting to figure out our place in this galaxy.
There was a bunch of space shuttle missions that were mostly successful in terms of doing those things for which the vehicle was designed: Shuttling. Exploration of any kind is not without its risks, as two of those missions ended in tragedy, killing all those aboard and leaving one more giant question mark next to our need to send human beings into space. Strapping oneself to a great big tank of hydrogen, mixed abruptly with a tankful of oxygen tends not to make water as much as a violent explosion when properly vented is a dangerous feat. It can move a rocket taller than the Statue of Liberty off the launching pad. Most of the time.
The energy and engineering necessary to get satellites and probes into orbit around distant planets pales by comparison to those needed to get human beings with their reliance on air to breathe and food to eat and water to drink. Maybe even an in-flight magazine. But this isn't really about any kind of practical concern. This is about a tiny-brained old man who believes he can embroider his legacy by being the one who insisted that "for what we're paying your guys, you should be going to Mars!" Not quite John F. Kennedy, there, Skippy. More like the first class passenger wanting to know why there is no wi-fi available on takeoff and landing.
Or Darth Vader throwing a snit because the Death Star wasn't ready on time to ruing the Skywalker Family Reunion.