[Discussion] On the topic of Moon vs Mars Next

A lot of energy is being spent responding to this question without a clear consensus of what the question actually means. Are we talking about a one-off science mission? A science lab like the ISS? Orbital or surface?

I'd argue that the question of "what" is far more important than the question of "where".

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Personally, I'd like to see more development of space infrastructure. Lunar ice mines, orbital fuel depots, space tugs, and more. Those are the sort of developments that actually matter, in my eyes. Sadly, the cost/benefit for such infrastructure is still too high, and probably will remain so until reusable launch vehicles drive down the cost-to-space further.

So... carry on launching more one-off science missions until then, I suppose.