Don and all you who believe it is in the USA's and NASA's best interest to return to the Moon before going to Mars for some engineering or science we lack now. You need to prove it otherwise it is BS.

Congress wouldn't buy this for a minute. You build for Moon missions while over engineering for the possibility you might someday use this equipment for Mars? Other than very general knowledge of an environment not of this Earth the Moon is not any better of an analog for Mars than the Earth or LEO is. Why would government spend the vast amounts of money, with all the problems we have now? Like the biggest USA deficit ever, an unending war in Iraq and thus the USA in even more danger from terrorists, (thanks Bush). When a simpler and easier approach is to use LEO and the Earth as the analogs and then simple go to Mars?