It is difficult for many Americans to believe that sending human beings into space via the national space
program is such an important effort today. This is
partly in the light of a reconfigured geopolitical balance between Russia and America, and partly due to the increased costs and perceived risks of the space program. This
paper argues these doubts are correct. For although it may become technically possible for humans to
travel to Mars, the paper argues that human travel to Mars should not be the primary goal of the American space program.