The next logical step - Post ISS

As the completion of the International Space Station soon becomes a reality, what is the next step going to be to sustain the human exploration of space? With the discovery of potential ice at the poles of the Moon by the lunar Prospector Mission managed by Ames Research Center and the recent report of the Space Studies Board of the National Research Council, "New Frontiers in the Solar System - An Integrated Exploration Strategy," that recommends a return to the Moon of a robotic mission to investigate the Aiken Basin, the Moon as a destination for exploration seems to be returning to the realm of targets for both robotic and human exploration. There is obvious interests in the Moon from Europe with the launch SMART 1 mission of the European Space Agency early in 2003, the Lunar Penetrator mission to be launched in 2003 and the SELENE missions of Japan, and then the interest by India in an orbiter and supposed lurking interests of China.