The moon has not superseded Mars as a human-spaceflight target, despite NASA’s current focus on getting astronauts to Earth’s nearest neighbor, agency officials stressed.
The Red Planet remains the ultimate destination, and the moon will serve as a stepping stone along the way, Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator, and Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator of NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, said during congressional hearings yesterday (Sept. 26).
“The moon is the proving ground, and Mars is the goal,” Bridenstine said during testimony before the Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness, part of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. [How Will a Human Mars Base Work? NASA’s Vision in Images]
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