The world has been celebrating Monday’s 40th anniversary of the first moon landing with a festival of 1960s nostalgia. Manned spaceflight may be the modern equivalent of Roman circuses, as a letter to the FT put it this week, but at least the US had the money and commitment to put on a great show with the Apollo programme.

The race to the moon caught the world’s imagination for several reasons: a clash of superpower ideologies, heroic astronauts, the thrill of exploration, and sheer wonder at achieving a science fiction dream. Above all, there was a clear goal that is missing today.