--- title: "Apollo Astronaut: It Would Be “Stupid” to Send People to Mars" description: "According to Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, crewed missions to Mars and hyped-up chatter of settling the planet are all a waste of time and money." date: "2018-12-26" modified: "2018-12-26" authors: - name: "Dan Robitzski" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski.md" url: "https://futurism.com/apollo-astronaut-stupid-people-mars" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "Space" tags: - "Apollo" - "mars" - "space" - "SpaceX" --- # Apollo Astronaut: It Would Be “Stupid” to Send People to Mars ![According to Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, crewed missions to Mars and hyped-up chatter of settling the planet are all a waste of time and money.]() *\Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS/Tag Hartman-Simkinss\* ## Fool's Errand According to one of the astronauts aboard NASA's 1968 Apollo 8 mission, it would be "stupid" and "almost ridiculous" to pursue a crewed mission to Mars. "What's the imperative? What's pushing us to go to Mars? I don't think the public is that interested," said Bill Anders, who orbited the Moon before returning to Earth 50 years ago, in a [new documentary]() by *BBC Radio 5 Live*. Anders argued that there are plenty of things that NASA could be doing that would be a better use of time and money, like [the unmanned InSight rover]() that recently touched down to study Mars' interior. The comments, by one of the most accomplished space explorers in human history, illustrates a deep and public philosophical rift about whether the future of spaceflight will be characterized by splashy crewed missions or less expensive automated ones. ## Mars Bars The crux of Anders' argument on the *BBC* boils down to his perception that NASA is fueling a vicious cycle of highly-publicized missions that bolster its image, improve its funding, and attract top talent so that it can launch more highly-publicized missions. Sending an astronaut to Mars would dominate the news cycle, but wouldn't push the frontier of practical scientific knowledge, Anders argued — a mismatch, essentially, between the priorities of NASA and [those of the public](). That skepticism places Anders among the ranks of other high-profile critics of NASA, Elon Musk's SpaceX, and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin — all three of which have set their sights on the Red Planet. For instance, science communicator and advocate [Bill Nye predicted last year]() that no layperson would want to settle Mars. Nye also doubled down last month to say that anyone planning on [terraforming Mars must be high on drugs](). ## Robust Explanation But Anders' own Apollo 8 crewmate Frank Borman disagreed, arguing in the documentary that crewed exploration is important. "I'm not as critical of NASA as Bill is," Borman told *BBC*. "I firmly believe that we need robust exploration of our Solar System and I think man is part of that." However, even Borman draws the line somewhere between exploration and settlement. "I do think there's a lot of hype about Mars that is nonsense," Borman said. "Musk and Bezos, they're talking about putting colonies on Mars. That's nonsense." **READ MORE:** [Sending astronauts to Mars would be stupid, astronaut says]() \[*BBC*\] ***More on reaching Mars: [Four Legal Challenges to Resolve Before Settling on Mars]()*** ## Author Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California. ### Author social links [Twitter]() ## More - [When Should We Send Humans to Mars?]() - [NASA Reveals Early Plans to Send Two Astronauts to Surface of Mars]() - [NASA Seeks New Astronauts as it Preps for Mission to Mars]() - [Mars Society President Calls for Starship Mission to Red Planet]() - [NASA Wants Private Missions to Give It a Ride to Mars]() - [Mars Astronauts Would Get Horrifying Dose of Radiation, Study Finds]() - [It’s No Longer a Question “If” We Will Colonize Mars, but Merely “When”]() - [China Unveils Plan to Send Astronauts to Mars]()