"And yes those that understand the significance of the rocket equation and experience with cost benefit analysis do have more insight than those who look solely at distance and travel time."

Rocket equation - doesn't that have something to do with showing that you can lift 20x the mass, from the Moon, that you can from Earth? You know, things like oxygen for propellant, regolith for radiation shielding, potentially solar panels, and so forth.

(Just being facetious - I did do some rocket equation exercises at ISU).

As for the cost benefit analysis - what are the benefits of a jaunt to Mars versus the development of a robust space architecture on the Moon, and what value do you place on those benefits so that they can be evaluated against the costs? Is a science outpost on Mars worth, say $50.0Bn, $75.0Bn, $100.0Bn? What value do you put on finding microbes on Mars versus the provision of materials for SPSes that provide the energy for the benefit of Earthworms?

Just curious,
Ken