Dear Bryan,
I do hope you will not consider me condescending when I say what I am going to do, it is definitely not intended.
You see, sooner or later it will become an absolute necessity. Ok, we are talking beyond probably all our life times (I hope), but it is knowledge that simply 'has' to be known. It is indeed, only wise to do so. What point sitting on this Planet ignoring what else is or might be around us... we might need an alternative some day? Alright, we have seen all the films - old and otherwise - but they are not that too far fetched when one thinks of what just might be out there... there is nothing new under the Sun and all that?
I look at such things in the light that what is being done is being done in the name of research, and, to be frank, I don't have a problem with money being spent in research such as this. Right, GM crops and all that, well, I do have a problem with such things since I know what trouble they might just cause, but the financiers of such things couldn't care a damn about that since all they are thinking is what they can get out of it. However, getting back to what we are talking about, this kind of research is 'open', it does not have the backing of such financiers - but I am not fool enough to think they are not watching, because i know for a fact that they are... what mining or extractive Org. would not be looking for new sources! - riding on the back of others... or discretely being part of same... you see, I am not immune to the Conspiracy Theorists!!!!!!!!
The Moon indeed hides many secrets. There are certainly minerals up there, and there will be water in some shape or form - whether we can drink it without considerable treatment another matter of course - "it might be water but not as we know it"... to coin a Star Trek sort of phrase or similar! It would be very silly for any person of this Earth to discount anything that might be beyond... just because we haven't 'bumped' into anyone else yet who lives in the absolute infinity of Space doesn't mean that they are not out there... that they don't have the capability - like us - to throw themselves into the Cosmos wherever they want, because, and don't be misslead, someone somewhere out there does, it's just that they haven't found us just yet, or they are having a damn good loom at what us lot are like before they do!!! - and I don't blame them one little bit, because if I was them I would give this one a miss with a very long barge pole!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy hit this one fair and square on the head when they wanted to build a though route through the Galaxy... "...What an apathetic lot, we told you years ago what we wanted to to do, but there was no reply". How true of the bulk of the populace these days! - the writers of this Series were very 'plugged in'!
So, you see, the answer is very simple... which science and field of research is more important to mankind? The Ion drive exists, one or two other things do as well, it is just a matter of time... ah, and there hangs another tale... time... Travelling in time is not as ridiculous as it might sound... we all do one way and another... but physically is another matter... or particulate matter! It is not impossible, and I challenge anybody to prove categorically and definitely otherwise... why... because it is impossible to do so! Only time will prove the issue...........! If anybody reading this thinks very very carefully it is actually possible to do so to the limited extent that some are surprisingly capable of doing so. What do I mean, well, let's see what some might say............... I can prove it but I am not going to do so as it will not be believed! - but it is acknowledged in certain academia to be 'surprising' shall we say. I think all I shall say is that we are all aware of three dimensions, the fourth is what might just make it possible... some are aware of it, but it's just a matter of physics... and boy oh boy what calculations they are! I know a World renown meta physicist that has been toying with this for 'some years', and I always enjoy our free thinking email exchanges even though I am Planets apart from his academic standing, but he likes my free and unburdened academic thinking, and he knows that I highly respect his considerable high standing... so the twain shall meet and all that.
Right, let's leave it at that, I have gone on enough, and I hope I haven't bored you to tears... but you did ask!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards, Bernard