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<\/div>Fool’s Errand<\/h2>
According to one of the astronauts aboard NASA’s 1968 Apollo 8 mission, it would be “stupid” and “almost ridiculous” to pursue a crewed mission to Mars.<\/p>
“What’s the imperative? What’s pushing us to go to Mars? I don’t think the public is that interested,” said Bill Anders, who orbited the Moon before returning to Earth 50 years ago, in a new documentary<\/a> by BBC Radio 5 Live<\/em>.<\/p> Anders argued that there are plenty of things that NASA could be doing that would be a better use of time and money, like the unmanned InSight rover<\/a> that recently touched down to study Mars’ interior. The comments, by one of the most accomplished space explorers in human history, illustrates a deep and public philosophical rift about whether the future of spaceflight will be characterized by splashy crewed missions or less expensive automated ones.<\/p> The crux of Anders’ argument on the BBC<\/em> boils down to his perception that NASA is fueling a vicious cycle of highly-publicized missions that bolster its image, improve its funding, and attract top talent so that it can launch more highly-publicized missions. Sending an astronaut to Mars would dominate the news cycle, but wouldn’t push the frontier of practical scientific knowledge, Anders argued — a mismatch, essentially, between the priorities of NASA and those of the public<\/a>.<\/p> That skepticism places Anders among the ranks of other high-profile critics of NASA, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin — all three of which have set their sights on the Red Planet.<\/p> For instance, science communicator and advocate Bill Nye predicted last year<\/a> that no layperson would want to settle Mars. Nye also doubled down last month to say that anyone planning on terraforming Mars must be high on drugs<\/a>.<\/p> But Anders’ own Apollo 8 crewmate Frank Borman disagreed, arguing in the documentary that crewed exploration is important.<\/p> “I’m <\/strong>not as critical of NASA as Bill is,” Borman told BBC<\/em>. “I firmly believe that we need robust exploration of our Solar System and I think man is part of that.”<\/p> However, even Borman draws the line somewhere between exploration and settlement.<\/p> “I do think there’s a lot of hype about Mars that is nonsense,” Borman said. “Musk and Bezos, they’re talking about putting colonies on Mars. That’s nonsense.”<\/p> READ MORE:<\/strong> Sending astronauts to Mars would be stupid, astronaut says<\/a> [BBC<\/em>]<\/p> More on reaching Mars: Four Legal Challenges to Resolve Before Settling on Mars<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> The post Apollo Astronaut: It Would Be “Stupid” to Send People to Mars<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p> Read more: Fool\u2019s Errand According to one of the astronauts aboard NASA\u2019s 1968 Apollo 8 mission, it would be \u201cstupid\u201d and\u00a0\u201calmost ridiculous\u201d to pursue a crewed mission to Mars. \u201cWhat\u2019s the imperative? What\u2019s pushing us to go to Mars? Continue reading Mars Bars<\/h2>
Robust Explanation<\/h2>
Apollo Astronaut: It Would Be “Stupid” to Send People to Mars<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"