<i>&gt;So your opinion is a good one, but will not impress the big masses. The same held for the moon. A purely political accomplishment for the US. And a big one.</i><p>I&#x27;m not sure that&#x27;s the case anymore, we&#x27;ve had so many successful robotic missions - to Mars, other planets, comets, etc. - that all captivate the public for a span and return valuable data for subsequent mission planning.  Pretty sure PR is neutral factor now in deciding on human vs robot missions.