[Owen]

Space is hard.

Even for the Chinese, who likely will get there prior to whatever fallback plan is selected.

[chud]

I should add that there is a theory that the knowledge to get back to the Moon, and possibly go to Mars was not lost.
Debus, von Braun, and some of their compatriots siphoned it off and created a sort of breakaway group that operates in the shadows (Eisenhower warned about it in his farewell address).
The US, Russia, and possibly China know about this group, and even trade with them, but can't touch them because they have vastly superior technology. The only thing preventing a complete takeover is the nuclear threat.
It may sound crazy at first, but not as crazy as the idea that these UAP, or drones such as the ones that kept hovering over Langley AFB, are aliens.

Every political system is flawed, and all bureaucracies are corrupt.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

Space is hard.

Manned space flight is so difficult, it may not be worth it.

Outside of the Apollo missions, the world record for manned space flight is 854 miles above the earth's surface (Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon, Gemini 11 in 1966).