Jobs aside, pushing the envelope scientifically is how we advance as a civilization. The space and aeronautical achievements made by the US over the last 100 years have brought us incalculable scientific advantages that we must maintain or lose. $0.02
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Mars?!
If Luna was 1 mile away and takes 5 days to get there Mars would be over 1250 miles away & Iāll let you do the travel time math. 
Why donāt we put more effort into preventing the diseases killing people on Earth? Making healthier food profitable? Cleaning the air & oceans full of trash?
Plenty of challenge & new technologies needed there.
The residual things that we achieved along the way to putting a Man on the Moon the first time, you now enjoy everyday. Computers, Cell Phones, Microwave Ovens, GPS all of that was an afterthought achievements when trying to get Man to the Moon.
After the Plauges of Europe in the Middle Ages, as soon as we humans could pop our heads out of the holes we were hiding in. We gathered and built great things. It made us feel better, it educated us as we built it, commerce rose up around it and Men sought to be free.
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I didnāt realize we had so many optimists in here! 
Iām not.
We know the travel time, approx 6 months with current tech, will get shorter with advancements in propulsion. Men got in wooden ships and were gone for years or decades with no idea what awaited them. Thatās what humans do, we explore, itās as hardwired into our DNA as anything we do. Nothing more or less. Much trickle down text (see article linked) exists, much national pride, mil/defense benefits, potential profit motives, etc aside, all secondary as far as Iām concerned.
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And to think we could have been able to do this for the last 40 years if we werenāt carrying so many deadbeats on our backs.
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5 days to Luna equals over 17 years at that speed to Mars.
I watched 17 as a little kid. It was real late, after midnight but my dad let me stay up late and watch the news. Then we went outside in the driveway and found the rocket in the night sky, it was very visible from Ft. Lauderdale. I assumed this would be the new normal because we had landed on the moon a few times. Had no idea it would be the last time and it would be more than 50 years later before we would even circle it again with a manned mission.
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Maybe youāre unaware, but weāve sent many spacecraft to Mars already. We know how long it takes.
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Round trip to Mars would be about 3 years.
They are now closer to the moon than they are to earth. So far, all things nominal. Thatās a really small space to spend 10 days with 4 people, but bigger than the old capsules. The toilet broke too, but appears to have been fixed.
Yeah I heard about the toilet issues. Broken and fixed twice so far. Man that would suck. Worst, āAre we there yet? I have to go to the bathroom!ā , story ever. Not like they can pull over on the side of the road. 
I noticed when they interviewed the astronauts that the 3 men were pretty big and bulky size wise. Are the smaller guys like the astronauts from the space race era not able to handle being off planet now? Just an observation and the first crew I noticed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T64jOc2_ieo
And then he surprises you !
252,752 miles: Artemis II becomes the farthest any human has ever traveled in history - breaking Apollo 13ās 56-year record
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Two very cool pics from that mission:
Link to image 1: NASA Image and Video Library
Link to image 2: NASA Image and Video Library
Landing pretty soon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfhDuOHMp0A
Iām hoping when they pop the Hatch Doctor Cornelius and a pregnant Dr. Zira emerge.
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