>A manned mission to Mars was already budgeted in the 90’s but rejected because of alternative goals. At the height of the Apollo landings we were paying a little less than 5 cents of every tax dollar to NASA. Today we’re paying a little more than half a cent. We’ve gotten much better at keeping people alive for long periods of time in space. There is a water reclamation system on the ISS. With a source of water, astronauts on Mars could produce their own food and oxygen as well. They wouldn’t need kilotons of supplies. And scientists on the ground could research in a matter of days what would take years for robotic probes to do. Robots can’t think. They can’t adapt to answer questions raised by more answers resulting from research in the field. But all this aside, if we don’t do it someone else will. Then they’ll have the high ground and we’ll be stuck following their coat tails. Is this America’s future?
Stepping foot on another planet would be huge. I bet the Chinese would try to beat us there as well. Space races are great motivations that create lots of useful tech.
Yes and also opens up new possibilities. It starts with one small step....