Colonizing the Moon has been claimed to be the stepping stone for colonizing planet Mars (NASA: "En Route to Mars"). Some folks are all in favor, with headlines like "Make American First on the Moon again!"
Even the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been adamant in his doom scenario projections: In one hundred year or so, mankind can no longer live on earth. That's a big "upgrade" from "... one thousand years ..." that Hawking made just a few months ago. No wonder then, the (renewed) race to the moon and planets (not limited to Mars) is just getting underway.
