Whatever lasting scientific, economic, or historical value Apollo might have had was sacrificed by President Nixon, with the collusion of Congress. The Nixon White House also killed most of the Apollo Applications Program, which would have made use of the mature technology of the Saturn boosters. The stage was set for mediocrity. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union, which disdained the moon, has parleyed inferior technology and superior will and vision to become the world's premiere spacefaring nation. They have a viable space station, a powerful heavy-lift booster, and a reusable shuttle ready for its maiden flight.
Many observers expect Russian cosmonauts to visit Mars by the end of the century.
Efforts continue in the U.S. to resurrect a new Space Race centered on the Red Planet, fueled by outrage over the Soviet Union's widening lead in space capability. Both viewpoints are misguided. Nationalism is tribalism for the modern era, militarism its endemic disease. Nothing could be worse for the American space program. However much Soviet successes alarm us, America cannot afford to hear the roar of Discovery 's engines as a starter's pistol.