The original moon race captured imaginations because it seemed to represent a dramatic leap into the future, even though it was fundamentally driven by Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. By contrast, today’s moon missions present a far more muted and divided public response, with many people more concerned about economic hardship and crises on Earth than space exploration. Scientists and commentators themselves disagree about whether crewed lunar and Mars missions are worthwhile or merely expensive vanity projects.

Modern space exploration is shaped less by scientific curiosity than by capitalist competition and geopolitical rivalry, particularly between the US and China. Governments and corporations are motivated by strategic and economic interests, including access to lunar resources and potential military ad ...