Like you, I grew up during the exciting era of space expiration when everything was new. To this day, the most amazing thing to watch live on TV was the Apollo 17 mission.
Notice, I did not say Apollo 11 and our first landing upon the Moon. That was an important even in the history of mankind, but it did not contribute much to our knowledge.
For me, Apollo 17 was the most important. It was the first and last Lunar mission that actually conducted science. That is what made it so valuable at the time, and it continues to increase our knowledge even today.
At the same time that we were exploring space, we also had men exploring our oceans. Both environments are extremely hostile to human life and required the development of new technologies.
Today, we no longer hear about creating cities under the oceans, as was popular in the literature during the 70's. The benefits simply did not balance the costs equation.
Thanks to technological achievements since the 70's, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are able to explore the oceans at a much lower cost, no risk to humans and actually do it better than any occupied submarine.
We often hear the argument that man must present to make quick decisions based upon what he can see and touch. As we have learned from the exploration of the oceans, that is not an honest argument.
As you can see from this image of the Johnson-Sea-Link, the humans are isolated from their environment.
With today's technology, men can remain in a safe environment and conduct the same exploration at a fraction of the costs.
As much as I loved the manned space missions, I must admit that remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) can do the same job at a much lower cost.
Let us allow the ROVs to do their jobs first. When we eventually send manned space missions to those locations, we will know what to look for. That is when we will obtain a return on our investment.
Lets explore space wisely, but continue to do so.
Exploration is what it is all about!