I wish someone would instead come up with a project to really capture the public's attention about space exploration. More interest means more funding. The U.S. Budget is measured in billions. The New Horizons project, for example, only cost $700 million.
The Lunar X Prize might have been that project but it doesn't seem to be making progress:
The Lunar X Prize might have been that project but it doesn't seem to be making progress:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Lunar_X_Prize
http://lunar.xprize.org/