Every year Hernando de Soto racks up enough frequent-flier miles for a trip to the moon.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But Anderson said the next big step involves something slightly further afield - a trip to the Moon.

CNN: Opening the space frontier, one tourist at a time

While it may not sound as epic as a manned trip to the Moon or to Mars, the horizons for science and technology will be expanding in 2017.

FORBES: Iridium Preps Its NEXT Generation Of Satellites

The George W. Bush-era Constellation project, for instance (later cancelled by Mr Obama), was supposedly going to be a return mission to the moon followed by a trip to Mars.

ECONOMIST: The space shuttle

President Bush's plans for a return to the moon in 2020, with a trip to Mars to follow, were all well and good, but now NASA has finally fleshed out the details of the moon visits, and it seems a permanent international moon base is in the cards.

ENGADGET: NASA planning to set up shop on the moon in 2024

If the United States is to return to the moon, it needs to do so in a way that is demonstrably superior to the first trip for example, being led by business rather than government.

ECONOMIST: The Americans may still go to the moon before the Chinese

The Director-General held a private meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the wake of his trip to Asia.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES