Agreed - though The race to the Moon was never really about the Moon. It was about proving technological, military, and political superiority during the Cold War. The Moon itself was effect just a very expensive finish line. That said the US gained: Global prestige: Landing first demonstrated that the US could accomplish what the Soviet Union could not, after losing the early milestones (first satellite, first human, first spacewalk). A military message: If you can precisely guide astronauts 384,000 km to the Moon and back, you can build world-class rockets, guidance systems, computers, and missiles. Technological advances: Apollo accelerated progress in computing, integrated circuits, telecommunications, materials science, navigation, software engineering, and systems management. Scientific knowledge: The missions returned 382 kg of lunar rocks, installed long-running experiments, confirmed the Moon’s age and origin, and transformed our understanding of the early Solar System So, it wasn’t all a huge waste, wasteful yes, and perhaps that’s why we stopped going back - but important discovery was made - whether the scope and cost of going there was worthwhile is naturally debatable.
