We need to permanently park one the size of an aircraft carrier in orbit so we can start burrowing in for a real space station.
How about burrowing into the Moon, it is in stable orbit and only about 200000miles from us
There are definite advantages to a lunar base but I’m personally thinking in a different direction.
I’m thinking more in the long term for deep space travel where bigger is better and asteroids are a ready made base for the large ships and crews needed.
However learning to do it on the moon would be the right first step. The more people you can put in a lunar base or space ship the better. More people means more skill sets and less need of cross training. Instead of 4 or 5 people intimately familiar with every system, 100 people with familiarity with different sets of systems means sending less phDs and more plumbers.