>>13925701>Its not difficult to physically go, its just difficult to generate taxpayer supportThe space race was originally to flex on the commies, after that public interest died off. There wasn't much reason to maintain manned missions on a dead rock so far away when unmanned probes work just as well for less cost and risk.
Nowadays its difficult to convince that past level of general public support. Your average politician would rather insist on "that money could be better used for feeding billionaire Zimbabweans/starving bankers".
The fantastic logistics of investing in on-site manufacturing of long-distance spacecraft in a low atmosphere environment, supply/fuel production, and mission potential of an actual space port doesn't carry the emotional appeal of a crying African child.
>tl;dr: taxpayer interest runs on instant gratification, not long-term investments 
