---
title: "Apollo Astronaut: It Would Be “Stupid” to Send People to Mars"
description: "## Fool's Errand"
date: "2018-12-26"
modified: "2018-12-26"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
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.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/apollo-astronaut-stupid-people-mars.png>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS/Tag Hartman-Simkinss\</em\>*

## 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](<https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001qn1>) 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](<https://futurism.com/insight-mars-reactions-nasa>) 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](<https://futurism.com/nasa-scientists-imagine-studying-venus-from-a-floating-research-colony>).

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](<https://futurism.com/bill-nye-i-predict-no-one-is-going-to-want-to-settle-on-mars>) 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](<https://futurism.com/bill-nye-mars-terraforming-high>).

## 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](<https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46364179>) \[*BBC*\]

***More on reaching Mars: [Four Legal Challenges to Resolve Before Settling on Mars](<https://futurism.com/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](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)