Forget The Moon

NASA urged to keep feet on Earth, Houston Chronicle
“A new report from Houston’s Baker Institute declares that NASA should give up for now any ambitions of rocketing humans to the moon and focus instead on delivering payoffs in energy and the environment — especially for climate change. Arguing that the space agency has an opportunity to prove “its relevance in the post-Cold War world,” researchers at Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy urged the Obama administration to place the space agency on the front lines of efforts to harness electricity from such alternative energy sources as wind and solar power.”
Maximizing NASA’s Potential In Flight and on the Ground: Recommendations for the Next Administration, Baker Institute
Rationale and Goals of the U.S. Civil Space Program, NAS