Several private groups see the Moon as high-end entertainment.

On the frontlines hoping to cash in on making the Moon a fun zone is LunaCorp of Fairfax, Virginia. The commercial firm is busy working on motion platforms, immersive imagery and surround sound gadgetry - all the better to link people to the Moon via surrogate lunar robots.

The breed of android that LunaCorp wants to offer can conduct telepresence exploration on auto-pilot. These automatons would be imbued with a powerful vision system that sees everything above and around them. Back on Earth, this all-encompassing image beamed through space will surround ticket-holding visitors at science centers and planetariums, immersing them in a full-body encounter with the Moon.

David Gump, head of LunaCorp, expects to have a commercially sponsored lunar orbiter in the next two years. Its task is producing an initial map of the Moon's poles, charting suitable landing spots and traverse routes. This orbiter would remain in orbit to provide a high-bandwidth communications link for a follow-on LunaCorp rover.

A growth in traffic between Earth and the Moon, for whatever purposes, demands a commercial tracking network, predicts Binder. "We're going to need it if we're going to do lunar exploration again," he said.

Lunar orbiters, rovers, return sample missions, and eventually human outposts - this beehive of activity requires a LunaCom-type network. This commercially based lunar communications firm would support the thriving business of using the Moon, he said.

Facts, not rhetoric

Hastening the day of a lunar return through the private sector means validating that there are market reasons to go back there in the first place.

"Lunar companies need to present their plans in approved business plan format, making sure they speak to the business community with specifics and facts, not rhetoric," said David Livingston, a business consultant in Tiburon, California. He also hosts the popular radio show, Business Without Boundaries, delving into space commerce and space tourism among topics.

Taking the case for lunar missions to the public, Congress, and the general space community is critical. Failing that, Livingston said, how could those espousing a commercial return to the Moon expect to develop and finance a lunar mission?

"So far the case for a return to the Moon has not been made," Livingston said.

"Make the case and win the support of the people and government. Make the financial case by validating that there are market reasons for returning to the Moon. Winning the souls and minds of the people, of Congress, the space advocates - that's where the real challenge to returning to the Moon resides," Livingston said.

Looking into his crystal ball, peering outward into the 21^st century, is Ben Bova, noted science fact and fiction writer. "I consider what I write as historical novels that haven't happened yet," he told SPACE.com.

Recognition by the public as to what space can and does play in daily life is a big part of a missing-in-action message, Bova said. "The public doesn't see anything happening in space that's important to them. Investments we make [in space projects] come out of their tax dollars, but the benefits come out of private industry. So there's a disconnect," he said.

There is no doubt that Earth will cozy up to the Moon for many reasons in the future, Bova said

"The Moon will be a major mining and industrial center. It will be a hub for interplanetary communications and space travel. As a great scientific base, you'll have a lot of astronomers scrambling to the Moon's far side," Bova said.

"The real question is how can you convince people that what we do in space is important to them. When we find the answer to that, then we won't have to sit around and wonder where we are going," Bova said.