Not really, it just shows you can lift a bigger payload of return fuel and life support. Doing 2 orbital maneuvers is not substantially harder than doing 1, it just means you need more fuel. Obviously, having life support for a longer time is more complex, but it's not a mastery thing, it's mostly just a budget thing. Both weight and money.
This is the primary hurdle. The Soviets failed to put a man on the moon because they couldn't create an engine with enough thrust. To this day, the thrust on the Saturn V has not been matched or surpassed, and its engines are a lost art.
Nah manned mission is 2-way and involves life support systems. It’s much harder and shows much more mastery of rocketry and all that
Not really, it just shows you can lift a bigger payload of return fuel and life support. Doing 2 orbital maneuvers is not substantially harder than doing 1, it just means you need more fuel. Obviously, having life support for a longer time is more complex, but it's not a mastery thing, it's mostly just a budget thing. Both weight and money.
This is the primary hurdle. The Soviets failed to put a man on the moon because they couldn't create an engine with enough thrust. To this day, the thrust on the Saturn V has not been matched or surpassed, and its engines are a lost art.