International Effort Could Put First Canadian On the Moon

A long-term plan created by 14 cooperating space agencies around the world could mean that a Canadian astronaut may get to visit the moon sometime close to 2030. The International Space Exploration Coordination Group, of which Canada is a part, released last week an updated roadmap laying out intended projects, including a lunar visit. "[CSA space exploration director Jean-Claude Piedboeuf] suggested astronauts could again be moon-bound in about 15 years. It would be the first human visit to the shining orb since 1972, when NASA astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt spent 75 hours there. This time, there could well be Canadian visitors. Their specialty: robotics. 'We're proposing a vision where Canada could have an astronaut, effectively a Canadian who will be in lunar space, either in orbit or on the moon and could operate a Canadian rover in the same way that Canadians operate a Canadarm on the space station,' Piedboeuf said."

This assumes the world isn't broke in 2030

[Nova Express]

With the way national governments keep piling up debt [economist.com], it's unreasonable to assume any of those governments will be funding space exploration in 2030.

Re:Tresspassing

[Chris Mattern]

We claimed it, planted flags there and all.

Well, since the flags are all white now, I guess we surrendered it all.

(Truth! The unfiltered solar radiation on the Moon has long since bleached all the flags we left up there pure white.)

Re:15 years?

[DerekLyons]

from Kennedy's challenge to first man on the moon was 8 years

Only because of the years and years of preparatory work already done. Development of the F-1 started in 1956. Much of the design and engineering for the Apollo capsule was already complete (although as a general purpose earth orbiter). The same goes for the engineering and development of the Saturn family of boosters.
 
One of the reasons Kennedy chose a moon landing as a goal (over the other options considered) in the first place was because so much of the necessary groundwork was already in work.