NASA didn't go to moon for the love of science and because it was cool. They went there because Sputnik was an ICBM with a radio for a payload instead of a warhead.
didn't know that Neal Degrasse Tyson was also on HN.
Oh yes absolutely it will cost more than $20B. But that’s an order of magnitude difference. If NASA has price overruns by 9x it’s still cheaper. That’s why it’s so stark.