Unfortunately I think this is just a reflection of the fact that human-driven space exploration has not only stalled, but declined. If you graph “Maximum distan

Unfortunately I think this is just a reflection of the fact that human-driven space exploration has not only stalled, but declined. If you graph “Maximum distance from Earth achieved by a living person” over time, it’s currently trending downward as the original pilots of the Apollo missions die off. I’m sure if we sent someone to Mars and back, a lot more children (and adults!) would want to be astronauts.