Future Missions: Moon or Mars

by Phillip Dyer

Before the 1990’s, one of the most prevalent plans for space exploration was the “Moon First” travel to the Moon, establish a base, and from there travel to the rest of the cosmos. This idea all changed in 1991 when Dr. Robert Zubrin published a paper that largely changed the focus of space travel for decades, moving the focus toward exploration of Mars. Since then, several Mars missions from countless space agencies have traveled to and explored the red planet, revealing even more beneficial reasons for its exploration. This paper explores how space agencies should proceed in the modern era of space exploration and the question, to the Moon or Mars?

14 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 3, 2020