I agree with your views. I think there's far more to gain, at many levels, from going to the moon and getting good at it. NASA's Artemis project is a bold and

I agree with your views. I think there's far more to gain, at many levels, from going to the moon and getting good at it. NASA's Artemis project is a bold and interesting proposal for our return to the moon (full disclosure, I might soon be neck-deep in a project connected to Artemis). One thing people who are not exposed to the realities of aerospace don't understand is just how difficult and improbable this stuff can be. As complex as it is, going to the ISS is child's play when compared to the moon and beyond. For one thing, the earth's magnetic field and atmosphere provide valuable protection in near space. Once you leave that protective blanket, as I like to say, everything out there is trying to kill you and drill holes into you at the speed of light. I think we can, with effort and investment, achieve regular missions to the moon and slowly build-up our knowledge as well as a solid base of operations. In, perhaps, 25 years or more, we could consider launching into deeper space from the moon. I just don't see the value of risking so much just to set foot on Mars. People are far more likely to die a horrible death due to our hubris than anything else. The risk would reduce substantially if we could prove we are capable of reliable and safe missions to the moon. There is no way I would want to send people to mars without first demonstrating exceptional capabilities and safety on the moon.