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While I agree that NASA should be looking up and out, I still think Mars is a better target than the Moon.

(1) Higher gravity. It has twice the gravity of the Moon so there is a better chance that humans can live there long term.

(2) The ability to live off the land. Mars has everything you need to make air, water and rocket fuel either in the atmosphere or a few inches under the soil. You can do a lot more when you don't have to haul all the basic needs of life with you.

(3) Less surface radiation. Mars's atmosphere blocks out solar radiation. You still get cosmic rays, but those take years of time outside the shelter to build up. On the moon one solar flare while you aren't under cover and you are at a lethal dose in minutes.

(4) Lunar regolith is nasty stuff. It is like powdered glass only more abrasive. Equipment failures on a moon base are going to be a real problem due to dust contamination. Now Mars has a lot of dust too. But wind erosion tends to round off the grains. So it isn't much worse than desert sand here on Earth. And we have a lot of experience developing equipment to deal with sand contamination.

(5) Normal day/night cycle. A sol on Mars is only a few minutes longer than a day on Earth. So while the solar cells are less efficient, they only have to last through 12 hours and 19 minutes of darkness. On the Moon the solar panels are much more efficient, but the batteries have to last through 14 days of absolute darkness.