[oberstein]

Any goal by the President must be fulfilled within 8 years at most, otherwise there's no chance. See for instance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_outpost_%28NASA%29 initiated by Bush and killed by Obama.

Greater than any technological or Presidential initiative challenge is the challenge of culture and media. Human lives matter a whole lot more now than they did during the Apollo missions, and a disaster resulting in the deaths of astronauts is the worst thing that can happen to NASA. As long as it is subject to public scrutiny and criticism that affects its budget and goals, it will continue in the fashion of the medical industry -- accepting all the consequences of do-nothing neglect instead of doing something that carries the risk of the deaths of a few individuals. In the medical industry, hundreds of deaths some of which could have been averted with not-yet-FDA-approved surgeries or drugs; in the space industry, the always looming threat of an extinction-level asteroid or other existential threats.

[andars]

Not sure about this. The Apollo program itself lasted through 3 presidents and for 11 years.

[Consultant32452]

I think the key difference is that the Apollo program was ridiculously well supported by the populous and mass media. I casually follow what's going on with NASA and honestly I think I heard about Bush's lunar outpost thing one time.