I think it is a little premature, yes, but think about this: If we don't do it, what are the repercussions if someone else does it before us. The reason the moon landing was so monumental was because we had beaten the Russians into space. Think about what would happen if Russia or China launched their own space corps and beat us to it, and assert their dominance in space. With tensions between Russia and the US and China already very strained, it would be very scary to see one of them find a way to dominate the US. We need this program not as a necessity now, but as a precaution for the future.