Fun With The Rocket Equation

It is absolutely ridiculous to talk about going to Mars from the Moon. You don't save money by spending more to reach a destination that's cheaper to launch from than Earth. It's a no brainer. IF you had launch facilities on the Moon already, it would be cheaper to go to Mars from there rather than Earth. Unfortunately Moon supporters fopcus on this alone and ignore the prerequisite. The other near term targets NEO's and Mars are as easy to reach as the Moon and basing on the Moon does little to nothing to reduce the cost of reaching them.

The nearness is safer idea is also bunk for the most part. How far away were Columbia and Challenger? Launch, Return, and firing any stage or mixing potentially reactive chemicals are by far the most dangerous events points in a mission. These are all independent of mission length. Radiation is a real danger on any long term mission and why surface stay should be maximized per mission to get the most bang for the risk of the journey. Sending 12 months in interplanetary travel for a few days, weeks, or months is silly when the surface is the safest place off of Earth to be.

Regards,
Mark