That was manned spaceflight 23+ years ago. It's debatable how much that was true after Apollo, and it certainly not was the case from 1991 onwards. NASA's manne

That was manned spaceflight 23+ years ago. It's debatable how much that was true after Apollo, and it certainly not was the case from 1991 onwards. NASA's manned space flight purpose today is to learn how to live and work in space, aka develop the skills and experience required for permanent settlement. For confirmation just look to NASA's vision, mission, and strategic goal statements, and the report of every blue ribbon commission to have looked at NASA over the past three decades.