Unmanned missions are not only safer, but a lot cheaper. It's sending human habitats to the moon and back compared to sending a package one-way.<p>I'd be very exited to see the moon as a testbed for robotic technologies. With little effort we could make a moon base before anybody even goes there. Or useful stuff, like a telescope.<p>You have cheap energy, lots of space, some building materials and time. Could be a lot worse.