Earth orbit rendezvous: The moon, the easy way!

[Drunkrobot]

The reason why the Apollo program was so "expensive" was because it needed its own launch vehicle to get that much equipment (the CSM, the LM and the S-IVB booster stage) into LEO, the previous projects only needing converted missiles. Saturn V had a LEO payload of 120,000 kg. The international space station is a mass of 450,000 kg, with it being completed in only a little more than a decade. I love the ISS, but if something of that mass can be built in LEO, then surely a 'moon tug' with a manned lander can be built within 40 YEARS, even if you have to use standard rockets ( Atlas 5, Ariane 5, Proton etc).

[WCOLE360]

Considered how much it'd cost too? I know the ISS costed A LOT

From the international space station program funding section:

2005 ISS budget allocation

NASA allocates about 125 million US dollars (USD) annually to EVAs.

The $1.8 billion expensed in 2005 consisted of:[47]

Development of new hardware: $70 million were allocated to core development, for instance development of systems like navigation, data support or environmental.

Spacecraft Operations: $800 million consisting of $125 million for each of software, extravehicular activity systems, and logistics and maintenance. An additional $150 million is spent on flight, avionics and crew systems. The rest of $250 million goes to overall ISS management.

Launch and Mission operations: Although the Shuttle launch costs are not considered part of the ISS budget, mission and mission integration ($300 million), medical support ($25 million) and Shuttle launch site processing ($125 million) is within the ISS budget.

Operations Program Integration: $350 million was spent on maintaining and sustaining U.S. flight and ground hardware and software to ensure integrity of the ISS design and the continuous, safe operability.

ISS cargo/crew: $140 million was spent for purchase of supplies, cargo and crew capability for Progress and Soyuz flights.

[end copied material, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station_program#2005_ISS_budget_allocation]

That's just LEO. What about the cost to get to the moon. Consider this, NASA's next interplanetary/non leo project is based off of ISS-Derived parts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Habitat

[Drunkrobot]

Much of the development costs would be downsized, as much of the craft would be fuel and tanks, parts which could be standardized. Also, money may be less of a problem, as now the moon mission can be done as an international project, spreading the cost, and the public is more likely to want it funded, since a moon base is considered "more prestigious" than a LEO lab.

[WCOLE360]

Russia (our main space fairing partner) will be making OPESK and more focused on interplanetery. It's not as simple as asking other countries to help.