Apollo 8 Pilot Bill Anders: Sending Astronauts to Mars Would be ‘Almost Ridiculous’
By Christopher Carbone, Fox News // December 27, 2018
Anders: 'I don't think the public is that interested'
ABOVE VIDEO: One of the first astronauts to orbit the Moon said on Wednesday that it’s “stupid” to plan human missions to Mars.
(FOX NEWS) – One of the first astronauts to orbit the Moon said on Wednesday that it’s “stupid” to plan human missions to Mars.
Bill Anders, who was the lunar module pilot for NASA’s Apollo 8 mission, told BBC Radio 5 Live that sending crews to the Red Planet would be “almost ridiculous.”
The U.S. space agency’s goals include sending humans to Mars for exploration and scientific study.
“What’s the imperative? What’s pushing us to go to Mars?” Anders, 85, said, adding: “I don’t think the public is that interested.”
Still, the retired astronaut did explain that he’s a big supporter of NASA’s unmanned programs to Mars — “mainly because they’re much cheaper.”
NASA’s InSight Mars Lander, which reached the Red Planet in late November, has been listening for “marsquakes,” has ‘heard’ Martian winds and has beamed back a range of awesome images.
In a statement, NASA told the BBC that it was “leading a sustainable return to the Moon, which will help prepare us to send astronauts to Mars.”
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