I wish that NASA&#x27;s plan were wise and thoughtful... but it isn&#x27;t.<p>NASA has created a plan which supports the continuation of all projects currently running and in development as part of the &#x27;path to Mars&#x27;.  While this may be a good jobs or aerospace stimulus spending program, these projects are not critical to getting to Mars.  If NASA were serious about going to Mars as soon as possible, they would cancel the Space Launch System (SLS), and spend the money on in-orbit low-gravity research, ion thruster research, and SpaceX&#x2F;Blue Origin&#x2F;Orbital Sciences&#x2F;ULA super-heavy lift capabilities.  If they did this, NASA could send astronauts to Mars in 2024.  As things stand, SLS is too expensive and slow a program to survive changes of administrations (i.e. presidential elections), like its predecessors, SLS and its descendants will go into cost&#x2F;scope death spirals and get cancelled&#x2F;restarted.<p>In short, if NASA really wanted to go to Mars, they&#x27;d focus on going to Mars.  If you&#x27;re interested in the subject, I suggest you watch &quot;The Mars Underground&quot;, as it is a good primer on the recent history of Mars exploration ideas&#x2F;initiatives.[1]<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;documentarystorm.com&#x2F;the-mars-underground&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;documentarystorm.com&#x2F;the-mars-underground&#x2F;</a>