The Trump administration has set its near-term sights on returning humans to the moon and, by the 2030s, to orbit or land on Mars.
Between the lines: NASA funding is key tohuman exploration of Mars, and some worry a mission to the moon could divert resources needed to reach the Red Planet. The agency is looking for the commercial space industry to take on more low-Earth orbit and lunar activities. When it comes to NASA resources for an eventual Mars mission, the moon is “the elephant in the room,” Artemis Westenberg, president of Explore Mars, said at the Humans to Mars Summit this week.
