9 Reasons We Should Go Back To The Moon
5. To Use It As A Stepping Stone
There's a lot of talk, these days, of sending humans to Mars. However, we haven't sent a manned mission to another celestial body for more than 40 years, talk about running before you can walk.
A mission to the moon would be an excellent refresher course in how to explore the solar system, allowing us to work out the kinks in our space faring technology and establish a solid base - physically, intellectually and technologically - from which to work.
If we set off to Mars, guns blazing and rockets struggling, we run the risk of rocking up, sticking a flag in and calling it a day, much like the Apollo programs. Sure, it would be something to be proud of, but a few space rocks with flags on them doth not a space colony make.
In order to get anywhere close to establishing a constant off-world human presence, we need to look at our closest neighbour first.