Buzz Aldrin calls for us to get our asses to Mars

[link to www.cnet.com (secure)]

For Buzz Aldrin, the moon is no longer enough.

Aldrin, who, along with Neil Armstrong, walked on the moon during the landmark Apollo 11 mission 50 years ago, penned an op-ed in the Washington Post Wednesday, calling on Congress and President Donald Trump to get behind a serious effort to create a permanent human presence on Mars.


"Human nature — and potentially the ultimate survival of our species — demands humanity's continued outward reach into the universe," Aldrin wrote.

He's not talking about "clever robots" or rovers, either. Aldrin said that as much as he appreciates NASA's work on unmanned missions, it's time Mars is explored by "by living, breathing, walking, talking, caring and daring men and women."