“...five years ago, NASA was tasked with returning to the moon by 2020, rerunning the moon race that we won 40 years ago. Not surprisingly, this new race has failed to ignite the imagination of young Americans — or their leaders...”
Well I have to agree with Buzz Aldrin about one thing, it’s hard to get fired up about going to the moon again...been there done that. The prospect of going to Mars, that really would be exciting, I would love it if we could do that, but at this point it sure looks like it would be prohibitively expensive.
Aldrin has a fascinating idea. Establish a ship in “orbit” around the Earth and Mars, using gravitational forces to send it between the two planets. It uses very little fuel and becomes a shuttle between the planets.
I wouldn't find it any more exciting than sending robotic craft, but even if others are thrilled, that's going to wear off once the mission is accomplished, just like Apollo.
We really need to find better and more efficient ways to get into orbit, so that everybody will have a chance to experience the thrill themselves.