Should we send humans to the Moon and Mars?

The recent documentary on the Apollo project "In the Shadow of the Moon" ends on somewhat of a sad note because the capability of human travel to the Moon has been lost since the end of the Apollo program - though China has plans to sent "taikonauts" to the Moon sometime in the next 10-20 years. NASA has recently started developing ways to not only return astronauts to the Moon, but also eventually send humans to Mars (and bring them back safely). This project will require much effort (aka money), and many scientists have worried that such an endeavor will prevent NASA from pursuing other projects, e.g. the Beyond Einstein program. Supporters say that this isn't necessarily the case, and even if it was, that sending people to other planets is such an important goal that it is worth the cost.

What do you think? Please vote in the poll to the left, and leave comments below.