9 Reasons We Should Go Back To The Moon

9. The Moon Is Still Exciting

Whilst the idea of a mission to Mars is exciting in a big, abstract way, it's a bit distant. The moon is a big part of our lives, whether you notice or not.

It hangs above our heads every night and has been a potent symbol in our culture since the invention of culture itself, not to mention the fact that it represents one of the greatest achievements of mankind.

In times of economic difficulty such as we've seen in recent years, it is so easy for a society to slip into the habit of becoming inherently inward looking and pessimistic. We're losing the ability to look up and to wonder, which is very bad news for science.

If you want public support for something, you need to get people emotionally engaged. Humanity's connection with the moon and stars is still strong, but waning (no pun intended), and what better way to bring it back home to everyone than by getting people to confront our place in the solar system - both as it is now, and as we would like it to be?