The gears are already in motion. Whether we are ready or not, humanity is returning to the moon. Why we are returning remains illusive to most, and why we need to keep the momentum going beyond imprinting on the surface of the moon a simple few human footsteps is such a fundamental imperative that it is often overlooked. In 2004, the U.S. president presented a vision for a human return to the moon and Mars, in addition to a shift in NASA funding for the development of human-rated spacecraft dedicated to exploring those worlds as precursors to human settlements. While this was an American announcement, the implications of such an endeavor are global, and need to be discussed in this context. Yet, the arguments justifying this radical change in exploration strategy have remained poorly presented to the general public. Although documents exploring the value of space exploration, and human-based space exploration in particular do exist, such studies are either not global in scope, or only address the philosophy behind humanity's innate desire to explore ("The mountains are calling and I must go" -John Muir). While important, these are insufficient to fundamentally justify the cost and rationale of human-based space exploration. To address this, a dedicated session has been held since 2006 at the MoonMars workshop, a yearly workshop run during the Space Generation Congress (SGC). SGC is an international youth space congress, officially held in conjunction with the International Astronautical Congress, endorsed by the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs, and organized by the Space Generation Advisory Council, a non-profit organization supporting the United Nations Programme on Space Applications. It was found by the session participants that a human presence in space is a natural continuation of humankind's exploration strategy, the cost of which is small compared to other social activities. Given proper international backing, a global, human-based space exploration endeavor beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO) has the ability to provide return on investment in the short term, and will drive long-term life-style improvements worldwide. Perhaps more importantly, it will result in immeasurable inspirational benefits, which cannot be obtained through a purely robotic exploration-based programme. Such inspiration will drive all sectors of our society, with an additional benefit being stronger international cooperation and understanding. In the long term, such space exploration-led inspiration and cooperation could be the foundation for a more global human understanding.
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