🚀 go-pugleaf

One other benefit of operating parallel lunar/mars missions is that
taxpayers get immediate gratification. The time required to get to
the moon makes it easier for the public to see the fruits of the
mission, while a bolder mission is quietly on its way to mars.

The other thing is that people can IDENTIFY with the moon much
easier that any other planet in the system (except earth). You can
see it and visualize it as a planet - a place to go, where the 
other planets, to the untrained eye, appear as just other stars.

I believe that this is one of the reasons of the success of the 
Apollo missions.

Basically, I believe that if you include the moon as a part of a
larger mission (and not seperate missions), it would be easier
to capture the imagination of the public.

Tim Harincar			"Always listen to experts.			
Central Minnesota 		They'll tell you what can't
Association of Rocketry		be done and why. Then do it."
soc1070@vx.acs.umn.edu			-Lazarus Long