In 2004, NASA hosted the Virtual Iron Bird workshop. I attended. At the time, VPOTUS Dan Quayle proposed that we fly to Mars. But, because there was no addition

In 2004, NASA hosted the Virtual Iron Bird workshop. I attended. At the time, VPOTUS Dan Quayle proposed that we fly to Mars. But, because there was no additional budget, it meant that NASA had to re-budget funds from other programs. There was some grumbling. My argument for Mars exploration was to drive bio science. Because, by the time you get to Mars, you'd probably have cancer. It was meant to be a joke. But, not really.