Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
From our Expert Voices conversation on what we could learn from a new human trip to the Moon.
To ensure the greatest returns on the public's investment in space exploration, landing on the Moon shouldn't be an end in itself. Mars remains the most promising destination to establish a long-term human presence and to advance our scientific understanding of life elsewhere.
But landing on Mars, with an atmosphere that can burn up spacecraft on entry, is not the same as the smooth, airless ride of landing on the Moon. And living on a planet that is on average 140 million miles from Earth is certainly not the same as living on on a moon that is a mere (cosmically speaking) 240,000 mile trip.
Fortunately, the Moon provides an opportunity to test and refine the technology needed to reach the Red Planet — we just don't need to land there. Life support, long-distance operations and astronaut health can all be tested in the space around the Moon. NASA could establish a national infrastructure to bootstrap our way to Mars that also supports other countries and commercial companies in their efforts to reach the lunar surface.
The bottom line: NASA is about more than going to the Moon — science, technology and the search for life are all parts of space exploration. We must strategically use precious public funds to push the limits of human knowledge while paving the way for others to follow.
Other voices in the conversation:
- Debra Needham, planetary scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center: The Moon can help reveal our solar system's history
- Clive Neal, lunar scientist and engineering professor at Notre Dame: Lunar resources ready and waiting
- Georgiana Kramer, staff scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute: Lunar swirls hold valuable secrets