Back to the Moon (Lecture 2): For Science and Exploration

The 2nd talk in our returning to the moon series.
If you'd like to see the first lecture, it's here:    • Back to the Moon (Lecture 1): This Ti...  

NASA has an ambitious plan to return astronauts to the Moon. The return includes commercial and international partners with the goal of promoting a faster and more extensive exploration of the Moon as well as destinations beyond.

In a fashion similar to what has been done in commercializing low-Earth orbit, NASA proposes to lead these partnerships. The plan this time is to establish a space outpost, to learn how to live in deep space, and to explore the Moon from above. Meanwhile, as assembly of this orbital outpost takes place, astronauts would land at the lunar south pole by 2024.

What are the goals of this new project? Is the lunar south pole the best place to go? What science will we be able to conduct from the surface of the moon and from lunar orbit? The new plan has received both praise and criticism. Supporters praise it as valuable, as they view it as the first true step for humans to permanently settle another world and prepare for the exploration of Mars and beyond. Opponents criticize it as too rushed, too costly, or too ill-defined.