I should have posted this about a week or so ago, but I didn't. So now I am. (I gleaned the information within from Wikipedia; I know that isn't the most accurate source, but so be it. I don't have a subscription to Britannica.)
It's been 50 years since the world was captivated by Armstrong's & Aldrin's walk on the Moon. And...nada.
If you've seen "Apollo 13" you'll recall how the transmission from the capsule on its way to the Moon was dumped by the networks because, as one official put it, "they've made a trip to the Moon as exciting as one to Pittsburgh." The American public (and I will venture to assume, much of the World's population) quickly lost interest in the lunar program. We've beat the Russians, now let's spend the money on something else. The disaster of Apollo 13 temporarily peaked public interest because said disaster made it interesting to watch. I venture to guess that by Apollo 14, interest waned again.
And let's face it, the prohibitive cost of landing on the Moon--certainly of maintaining a lunar base--is part of the reason we haven't gone back since Apollo 17; to the tune of $25.4 billion ($158 billion in 2018 dollars). From 1964-66, NASA's budget peaked at 4% of all federal spending. [Wikipedia "Budget of NASA"]
It seems clear to me that if we hadn't had two wars we'd have a moon base by now. Alas, we don't. And it's a pity. And I'm wondering if we will ever go back for the same reason as that quote from Apollo 13 about a trip to Pittsburgh.