Exploring Mars is a far different venture from Apollo expeditions to the moon; it necessitates leaving our home planet on lengthy missions with a constrained return capability.
You can never tell when a commercial space venture will suddenly become viable.
In space, you don't get that much noise. Noise doesn't propagate in a vacuum.
To move forward, what's required is a unified space agenda based on exploration, science, development, commerce, and security.
Most people never believed in the real possibility of going to the moon, and neither did I until I was in my twenties.
The decision to go to the moon is now appreciated and associated with President Kennedy's speech, but somebody else had told him it was a good idea. It turned out to be a good commitment, but it was a unique situation.
