Gary, I'm glad you said in the thread below that we really aren't in stark opposition on many of the issues. I agree. Perhaps I'm naive in thinking that resources spent on lunar exploration won't come at the expense of our Mars effort. In any case, I also agree with you that between the two targets, Mars is likely to be far more important to the future of humanity.

And Mark, I suppose you could be quite right that I suffer from Moon Blindness (is that what you called it?). Here's my fear: we'll send a crew to Mars, and despite all the redundency and preparation, something catastrophic will happen and the I told you so's will fly so thick and heavy, and so many heads will roll, that no one will try it again for a century.

So call me a defeatist, a small-time thinker who suffers from enough misconceptions to qualify for Baath Party membership. You're probably right. Of course in the end it really doesn't matter--since I have no connection to the aerospace industry, my opinions concerning spaceflight are of cosmic insignificance. That in itself may be proof that the system works :-)

And if the focus of the space initiative shifts quickly and heavily toward Mars, as some people are apparently saying NASA's budget suggests (haven't read it yet myself), I'll be a half-step behind you guys, cheering it on.