I firmly believe that going straight to Mars without first testing technology on the moon is a bad idea and I've said so repeatedly. Inadequate testing has killed a lot of people.

I believe that the moon is far from a dead end but there needs to be a good rover exploration around the areas where Lunar Prospector showed the presence of hydrogen to see what can be made of it. If it's harvestable, then there is the possibility to do some remarkable things in space. If not, then we're stuck with what we can launch from the Earth.

Several days ago, I asked you to define "gateway" as you see it when you and Gary discuss using Mars as a gateway. Personally, I think that's an asinine idea but that's based on what I define as a gateway. Hint: it's more than a refueling station.

In military studies, there's an old saying that's very true: "Amateurs discuss tactics. Professionals discuss logistics."

When I talk about a space gateway, I'm talking logistics, and that means the whole range of things needed to mount space missions. It'll be generations before Mars will be able to be a space gateway.

From what I've seen of your writing, it appears you're looking at going to Mars from a short-term tactical perspective. All well and good, but then what?

In the end, you have to consider logistics, not just now but for the next century.