The manned mission to Mars was slated in about 1968-69 to take place in the mid-1980’s. The Democrats with not a few Republicans killed the already underway research and development in the early 1970’s along with the last of the Apollo Lunar missions. likewise with every Presidential announcement of the manned space missions since then.
If we had stayed on schedule, there would already be a permanent manned scientific station on the far side of the Moon (Luna) conducting radio astronomy projects, multiple privately financed commercial space stations in low Earth orbit, a manned government and/or commercial space station on a near-Earth asteroid, and at least one manned mission to Mars.
” The Democrats with not a few Republicans killed the already underway research and development in the early 1970’s”
No surprise here. They only fund what lines their pockets.