No indeed we are not in a race with other nations, but in a race with ourselves.  A race to not look inward in fear of the cost of looking outward and to not be too afraid of events in our world to attempt what the greatest societies are mandated to do.  

At the same time we must be very diligent in reducing the cost for these endeavors. These missions must, in the near future, be planned around the single most critical motivating factor.  That is profit.  Curiosity is only a quick and fleeting gesture of a species who is very busy at survival.  I believe without a doubt, however, that the Moon can yield a very high margin of profit, but we must keep trying to develop and test the technologies to carry us to the opportunity cost.

That is the core of the Space Frontier Society's philosophy and I agree with it %100















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