Real Reason NASA Hasn’t Sent Humans To Mars

We could have been on Mars 30 years ago. At the peak of the Apollo era in the early ’70s, NASA was already planning its next step into the unknown. Its plans included building multiple space stations, continued trips to the Moon, and the first crewed mission to Mars by the 1980s. Can you imagine watching astronauts walk on Mars the same time the walkmen came out? But NASA never sent humans to Mars in the ’80s. And here we are 30 years later, still dreaming of the possibility. But the reason isn’t necessarily a matter of technology or innovation. It actually comes down to politics. As a government agency, NASA’s goals are determined by the Executive Branch. Since its inception, NASA has served under 12 presidents. And it was clear near the start that not every president would support NASA equally. By the end of Nixon’s administration in 1974, NASA’s budget had plummeted from 4% of the federal budget to less than 1%. Fully-funded Apollo missions 18 and 19 were