Robots, not humans, will explore the Moon and Mars, at least for now. NASA’s
budget will not stretch to sending astronauts beyond low Earth orbit, leaving
little hope for a Moon or Mars expedition in the near future.
NASA should have around $13.5 billion to spend annually over the next
two years. But the International Space Station alone will swallow up
$2.27 billion a year. Maintaining space shuttles, plus space research
projects and aeronautics and space vehicle development programmes will consume
the rest.
