There are a few sad things about the Apollo project:

The apollo project was barely scientific. Surely it adds to scientific research to date. Surely it was about proving a concept, to bring men to the moon and back. But whats the point of that, besides realizing childhood dreams. If the Apollo project where about scientific research, probes, robots and artifical satelites would have been much more efficient.

The apollo project was more about politics and about keeping everyone, who could make long range rockets, in awe about what the USA could achieve with their biggest rockets and rocketry pioneers, including http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun .

The apollo project was not so much about science, and more about showing off, to prevent long range (nuclear) warfare.

Today there are a few things about warfare too. for what the USA spend and lost in the middle east wars within 10 years, they could easily have build and maintained at least 3 long term manned bases on mars, if not a few dozen.