“NASA can’t afford ...” there it is the money argument - what they are really saying is forget both, get on with climate change and muslim outreach.
The logical thing is to do both - the Moon and then on to Mars - far more economical and far safer.
But that will be up to the Chinese as the US will continue to blankly stare into its collective navel hoping that some one drops off a load of free stuff.
And we are going no where else until the educational system gets fixed and we return to the academic standards of at least 1936. If not, pack it in, move to China or do something else.
I took a tour of Johnson Space Center two years ago, a/k/a “The Angry Birds Exhibit.” They showed us the planned mission control for the Mars mission, along with the mock-up of the space vehicle.
The mock-up looked like a slightly larger Apollo capsule (four guys are going to live in that for over a year on a one-way trip? Sure they are...).
At the mission control, the guide said they were looking at a launch window around 2035. My question “So you’re telling me the astronauts for that mission are maybe in Kindergarten?” He looked annoyed and said “Yes.”
We aren’t going to Mars.