Seeing as the title could be a bit misleading, I&#x27;m glad the article clarifies:<p>&gt;<i>Ishimatsu says the research demonstrates the importance of establishing a resource-producing infrastructure in space. He emphasizes that such infrastructure may not be necessary for a first trip to Mars. But a resource network in space would enable humans to make the journey repeatedly in a sustainable way.</i><p>In other words if we want to get to Mars ASAP, setting up lunar mining and refueling infrastructure probably isn&#x27;t the fastest way to go about that, even if it is more mass efficient.