I think this misses the mark. We're going to the moon because there is a cadre of decrepit old farts in power that hate themselves and see this as their chance of hating themselves a little less and maybe even leave a mark in history before they spring their mortal coil.

They also have no ideas of their own, so instead of seeking something with substance, they just replicate what their child selves saw other people praise. It's magical thinking, "they did this thing and are remembered today. I'll repeat the incantation and get the same results".