Since the Apollo program ended nearly 50 years ago, every newly elected US president has been haunted by the same question: Where should we send astronauts?
NASA’s current target is the moon, but the moon belongs to a previous generation of American pioneers. A larger, more fitting ambition for the space program that first landed humans on another celestial body is Mars – a destination NASA has been aiming for since the days of its early visionaries. It is now time to realize their dream.
The Artemis program is NASA’s centerpiece for manned space flight today. The goal is to place astronauts on the lunar surface by 2024, but the outlook for that date is dim. There is still no clear mission plan and work on the Artemis missile and capsule is behind schedule and over budget.
As for sending astronauts to Mars, NASA is somehow always a tempting few decades away from sending astronauts to Mars, thanks to the changing priorities of successive presidents. Think back to the circuits since 1988, when George HW Bush pushed for a return to the moon, followed by a mission to Mars. Bill Clinton canceled the lunar plan (not to mention Mars) and embraced the International Space Station. George W. Bush has revived the Moon-Mars series. Barack Obama ignored the lunar portion of the program, saying NASA “had been there, done that” and instead chose an asteroid mission and then Mars. Donald Trump rejected Mars’ plan and chose to reach the moon with Artemis instead, but NASA still says Mars is on the agenda.