Mission possible as hopes rise for new lunar landing

TODAY is a bittersweet anniversary for space buffs.

- By David Williamson

Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon, salutes the US flag in 1972

December 14 marks the last time a man walked on the moon. Nasa astronaut Gene Cernan left the lunar surface on this day in 1972 - and nobody has put their footprints on the moon since.How has more than half a century now passed since humans made the journey there?

Science fiction authors who expected that by this time humans would be making regular interplanetary journeys have been proved wrong. The dying of manned space flight could be a symbol for the lowering of ambitions in the West and the decline of the spirit of adventure.

In the United States, that sense the country is not what it used to be is one of the most powerful forces in modern politics. Donald Trump's call to "Make America Great Again" has twice won him control of the White House.

Here in the UK, Brexiteers bristled against a pervasive narrative of decline in the years leading up to the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union. They resented the notion that the nonnegotiable price of limited British prosperity was abiding by rules set in Brussels.

Next year we will mark a decade since the vote to leave the EU, and the wisdom of the national decision will be debated intensely.