Of the individual categories, establishing a polar lunar base was favored more than six to one over the Obama plan to visit an asteroid and nearly two to one over an Apollo style manned mission to Mars. While the-- all of the above-- category received the most votes, only 15% of those polled at the Daily Kos site said that NASA didn't need a new space launch system.
Marcel F. Williams
Developing New Crew Launch Vehicles for NASA (Daily Kos)
Seems rather pointless to push manned flight quickly. Why not determine and develop a sustainable ecosystem of tele-controlled insects? A tiny rocketship sent to the moon, with self-unfolding & inflating modules containing ant/termite/bee colonies and various fungi foods etc. Some solar-powered method to separate the oxygen out from silicates using thin-film panels. Much could be done before humans return, preparing for arrival.
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