[Pedantic_Lady]

For the foreseeable future (next 100-200 years) the MOON is way more valuable real estate than MARS.

Then why did we waste all this time and money on the stupid shuttle program? (Not badmouthing the astronauts...just the shuttle and its design and COST.)

[Cincinatus' Wife]

How would you like to see the money spent? Do you think government should be involved in large national endeavors like the Panama Canal, Apollo, interstate highway system, TVA, etc?

[Rebel_Ace]

"...Then why did we waste all this time and money on the stupid shuttle program?..."

Well, the answer you would get from a NASA type would follow these lines:

(1) Having a space station would make journeys to the Moon and Mars a lot easier, so we want a space station in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to serve as a very local staging / construction platform.

(2) To make the Station economically feasible, we need to lower the cost of getting to LEO, and planners at the time thought that a re-usable "space truck" could lower costs.

(3) Designed by committee, and optimized for no single purpose, the shuttle turned into an over-weight, under powered disappointment, and was never able to meet it's targets for cost and re-usability.

Frankly, right now, what we need is a fleet of reliable, big dumb boosters.