Also, the engineering involved with hitting a moving target this small will yield great knowledge and experience.
Keep in mind that when you don't have to send a strutting cock-o-the-walk for his celebrity thrill ride, you can get a lot more bang for your exploration buck. This crate doesn't have to come home and get a tickertape parade to get the job done and that makes it cheap.
So BUZZ has to showboat this party, too...I guess he's a perennial face, like Geraldo. Maybe he can sign Buzz Lightyear dolls when he's through.
Don't hold back. You may want to tell us what you REALLY think about the Manned Space Program.
FWIW, I do agree with some of your criticism, but the early programs. including the Moon Landings, were worth the effort and the prestige it brought to the US.
The ISS - I don't know?