While ISS was ill concieved (IMO) It was not done as a form of corporate wellfare for lockheed et al. Those companies can do just fine on just thier defense contracts alone. Now, I'm sure lockheed pushed for the project, saying they can do it, they'd like to do it, just pay them. But that's not quite the same thing.<br /><br /><br /><br />I also completely and utterly disagree with your assesment of the value of a moon base, scientifically. Estimated costs for establishing such a base is 500 billion dollars. Thats 5x what we've spent on 20 years of shuttle service. The return scientifically: LESS than the shuttle.<br /><br />Why less you ask? You yell even? Simple: Conditions present on the moon are easily replicated on earth, with the exception of the lower gravity. And lower gravity isn't a big goal either. And it isn't insurmountable (suspending things in fluids, neutral bouyancy tanks etc, can simulate that).<br /><br />The long duration micro-gee free fall environment of orbital stations cannot be mimicked on earth. They provide a unique environment.<br /><br />All the moon offers is: Further away, less gravity. Neither of which matters (unless by less gravity we mean ~0).<br /><br />Now, the only scientific endeavor I would agree to, dealing with the moon, is large radio telescope (or array) on the dark side of the moon. THis provides ~100% shielding from earth based radio noise.<br /><br /><br />Also, as far as studies on the stations, it isn't just long term human effects (though those are important to monitor and learn from using new techniques), but a whole bunch of other things as well (as mentioned already).<br /><br /><br /><br />A note on the level of experimentation: Sure, it may seem like low level stuff, but most experiments are simple.<br /><br />Take mine for instance. I work on a study where we study quasar variability in efforts to understand the dynamics of the accretion torus. Things such as polarization, composition, thickness, rotation rates, <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector. Goes "bing" when there's stuff. It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually. I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>