The moon should come before Mars. Distance alone makes Mars exponentially more difficult.
For what purpose?
The moon is a good place to work out the glitches, where you are just a three day ride to safety. On the other hand, it can also be a way of endlessly delaying Mars.
So maybe Branson can go after the Moon, while Musk goes after Mars. And NASA focuses on unmanned planetary visits, which is also a good way to develop skill sets.
Moon colony first, then Mars......................
The moon should come before Mars. Distance alone makes Mars exponentially more difficult.
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I disagree. Once out of Earth’s gravity well, the heavy lifting has been done. It’s human life support requirements over time that create the difficulty. Without humans, going to Mars isn’t that much more difficult than going to the Moon, though the Russians might disagree.
Going to the Moon as a stepping stone to Mars just increases the complexity and cost.