Space colonization is all-important as a survival strategy. If a extinction-level event was going to strike Earth, space colonization would allow a portion of the population to survive. Not to mention that the base itself would provide any nation with a foothold when it comes to colonizing the space.
This isn't just a matter of "exploring" anything, it's about setting up America's -- and humanity's -- long-time future. If China or another hostile nation is the first to start building bases, they could lock the rest of the world out, in very much the same way that they've tried to illegally control the South China Sea through the construction of artificial islands (an issue that only Jim Webb seemed to take seriously in 2016 presidential primaries, while other candidates -- excluding Trump -- were often careful not to say a bad word about China, with Hillary only starting some rhetoric because she saw how it played well on Trump's side).
But it's not a particularly good reason. More importantly, this is a very different kind of project. Previous missions were expensive sight-seeing tours. This would have bring a long-term presence that would allow America to do so much more.
You can't really expect science to solve all of our problems, especially when so many of our problems have nothing to do with science =p
perfectly said well done.
One thing missing is the acquisition of rare metals to help further research. I'm not talking about new metals. Think about hydrogen isotopses like deuterium, palladium, platinum, lithium, and maybe a few crystalline formations that may be present on other worlds for super conductor creation.
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Sometimes you come out on top, sometimes on bottom. For everthing else use KY.