Since the beginning of civilization, mankind has always been looking toward the stars. Perhaps this is because mankind is always looking for ways to expand his sphere of influence. In order to achieve this, it is essential that mankind to expand further out into space. Especially when mankind stepped onto the Lunar soil for the first time; the possibility of expanding further towards the stars became a true reality. Of course, that feat has not been repeated after the original 6 lunar flights. Nowadays, there is a lot of talk in various space agencies about the possibility of sending a new mission to the moon again.
Unfortunately, even though mankind has gone to the moon in 1969, this is still not a simple feat in the 21st century. Most of the know how accumulated during the lunar flights have been lost due to the fact that production facilities have been dismantled and many experts who worked on the lunar missions either have retired or died. Right now, it would be impossible to replicate the Saturn 5 rockets that were used to launch the original Moon Mission. Thus, due to this, it has become impossible to fly to the moon again without some sort of a preparation. Hence, many scientists state that going to Mars is a better option as compared to going to the Moon.
However, the fact of the matter is that moon will always remain the best option for mankind. The reason for this stems from the fact that the moon can always act as a stepping stone to the rest of the solar system and beyond. This is only natural, as the moon is in a very close proximity to Earth. Only by taking a 3 day trip, it is possible to reach the Moon with standard chemical propulsion techniques. However, in retrospect, going to Mars would require almost 100 times the amount of trip time of moon, since Mars is about 1000 times further then the moon. The amount of life support that is required for a mission that will take 2 years or more is definitely very costly and more importantly, the technological capability is not there. Thus, with our present global financial and technical capability, the moon is the only realistic option.
Of course, in view of the recent findings, there are other reasons why Moon is so important for mankind. First of all, the findings from the Chandrayaan probe have shown unequivocally that water exists in the lunar poles. Hence, with the existence of water, colonizing the moon has not only become possible, it has become imperative. As you know, water contains both hydrogen as well as oxygen atoms. Hydrogen can be used as a propellant and as an energy source, while water can be used as an oxidizer as well as a major life support requirement. The oxygen is especially important, as it can be filtered to provide air and the water itself can be used from variety of ways from drinking to being used as a coolant in various subsystems. In addition, the proximity of the moon promises the transference of raw materials such as Helium 3 as well as iron that can be found beneath the lunar regolith. Hence, it is the time to go back to the Moon again for the sake of mankind.
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