THE moon landing celebrations are all very well, but now it鈥檚 time for a trip to Mars. So say Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
鈥淪ometimes I think I flew to the wrong place,鈥� said Collins at an event at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. 鈥淭he moon is not a particularly interesting place,鈥� he added. 鈥淢ars is the closest thing to Earth鈥檚 sister that we鈥檝e found so far.鈥�
Buzz Aldrin called for NASA to send astronauts to Mars by 2035. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any point in sending human beings to the surface of the moon and having them spend the rest of their career there,鈥� he said at a briefing on 20 July. 鈥淭here may be life on Mars. If there is it鈥檚 damn sure that we ought to go there and look at it.鈥�
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An independent review of NASA鈥檚 plans for sending people to the moon and Mars is due to be published at the end of August.