Re: "To simply go and come back and say that we've been there again is highly unsatisfactory,"
"While fitting within the time that Trump hopes to be in office"
The same with Bush and Obama who also talked up going to the moon and Mars.
One of the big problems with state sponsored space programs in democratic countries is that they have to fit within the term of the sponsoring politician. This limits things to missions already in the works or projects that can be accomplished in the next couple of years. NASA is especially hindered by this. SLS, aka the Senate Launch System, has the best chance as Senators don't have term limits (yet). It's a wasteful rocket that will cost stupid amounts of money but is in with the best chance since it's funding doesn't bottleneck with a single politician.
I'm sure President Trump will capitalize on any positive PR from the US putting people on the moon again, but if he doesn't, the President to follow him will or the one after that or the one after that. Very rarely do senior politicians have any background in science/engineering nor are they usually all that excited by it beyond whatever will buy them votes in the next election. Mrs. Thatcher is the only politician I can recall with a science background.
Science is important and given all of the Nobel prizes won by those in the UK the last go around, it should be more supported by government. It always pays back with interest.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
