STARSHIP CONGRESS 2017 - MONTEREY, CA August 7-9, 2017: Theme: Space is for Everybody (What does the Moon mean to Interstellar?)

In order to make star-to-star interstellar space exploration a reality in our lifetime, a "first space" staging area for interstellar exploration will be needed. Technology, machines, culture, and civilization will need to be brought to space. Critically, people will need to be brought up there. Our question for Starship Congress 2017 is what role the moon can play to catalyze humankind's venturing forth to explore interstellarly. Furthermore, this year's theme builds on a key take-away from the Starship Congress 2015 summit at Drexel University:

In order to make interstellar space exploration interesting to everyone, what must we do to make space accessible for everybody?