🔬 Science and technology · Intermediate · Policy resolution

Resolved: NASA should land astronauts on the Moon again before sending astronauts to Mars.

NASA plans to return astronauts to the Moon's surface and use what it learns to prepare for Mars. Some argue the Moon is a needed proving ground; others say it's a costly detour from the bigger goal. Which should come first?

Background

No one has walked on the Moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972. NASA’s Artemis program aims to go back. On Artemis II, four astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon, launching April 1, 2026, and splashing down in the Pacific on April 10, 2026. [1]

In February 2026, NASA changed its plan. Artemis III, set for 2027, became a test flight in low Earth orbit, where astronauts will practice docking with commercial Moon landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin and test new spacesuits. Artemis IV, planned for 2028, is to be the first landing, and NASA said it aims for at least one landing a year after that. NASA restated this timeline in October 2026. [2][3]

NASA’s Moon to Mars objectives (September 2022) call for missions on and around the Moon “followed by missions to Mars,” using the Moon partly to test systems for Mars. Mars is much harder: a NASA workshop paper describes an example round trip of about 850 days, a one-way radio delay of up to about 22 minutes, and notes that lessons from lunar mission aborts will have limited direct use for Mars, since an early return from Mars could take hundreds of days. The Moon program is expensive: NASA’s Inspector General projected in 2021 that the agency would spend about $93 billion on the Artemis effort through fiscal year 2025. [4][5][6]

Where the facts themselves are disputed

How much does practice on the Moon help with Mars?

  • NASA’s plans hold that landing, living and working on the Moon tests the systems, suits and operations Mars will need, close enough to Earth to come home if something fails.
  • Critics say the Moon’s lack of air, its weaker gravity and its short distance from Earth make it a poor stand-in, so Moon hardware and practice may not carry over well to Mars.

Key terms

Artemis
NASA’s program to return astronauts to the Moon, using the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion capsule and commercial landers.
Low Earth orbit
Orbit a few hundred miles above Earth, where the International Space Station flies.
Proving ground
A place to test equipment and skills before using them where failure would be more dangerous.
Launch window
A period when a launch can reach its target efficiently. Good windows to Mars come about every 26 months.

Both sides at their strongest

Each argument is written the way its best advocates would make it, followed by the strongest answer from the other side. Use them to build your case and to prepare for the other one.

Affirmative (Moon first)

The Moon is close, reachable and a safe place to learn the skills and test the machines a Mars mission will depend on.

  1. A1 The Moon is a safer place to learn.

    Why The Moon is about three days from Earth. If something goes wrong, a crew can come home in days. At Mars, help is months away, so mistakes must be found and fixed first.

    Evidence NASA’s Moon to Mars objectives, which call for using the Moon to shorten testing before Mars; NASA’s Mars challenges paper on long abort times.

    Best answer The negative answers that the Moon tests the wrong things: NASA’s own paper says lessons from lunar aborts will have limited direct use at Mars.

  2. A2 We need to test life support and suits on another world.

    Why Astronauts will need to live for long periods away from Earth, wear suits in harsh dust and work outside daily. The Moon lets NASA test all of this on a real surface.

    Evidence Artemis plans for surface stays and new spacesuits; NASA’s architecture documents on Mars-forward tests at the Moon.

    Best answer The negative replies that the space station and Earth-based tests can do much of this without the cost of landings.

  3. A3 The program is already moving.

    Why Artemis II has flown, landers are being built and a 2028 landing is planned. Changing direction now would waste years of work and money and could leave the nation with neither goal.

    Evidence NASA’s 2026 Artemis updates; history of programs canceled midstream, such as Constellation in 2010.

    Best answer The negative answers that money already spent is gone either way (the sunk cost fallacy), and the question is what’s best from here.

  4. A4 The Moon has science and resources of its own.

    Why The Moon’s craters hold clues to the early solar system, and ice near the south pole might one day supply water and fuel. These are worth exploring for their own sake.

    Evidence NASA lunar science goals; studies of water ice at the lunar south pole.

    Best answer The negative replies that robots can study the Moon cheaply, and that Mars may hold the bigger scientific prize: signs of past life.

Negative (Mars first)

Mars is the goal that matters most, and spending decades and billions on the Moon delays it without preparing for it well.

  1. N1 Mars holds the biggest questions.

    Why Mars once had liquid water and may have had life. Astronauts there could search in ways robots can’t, so the most important science is on Mars, not the Moon.

    Evidence NASA Mars science goals; findings from Mars rovers about ancient water.

    Best answer The affirmative answers that the science will still be there in a decade, and getting astronauts home safely matters more than getting there first.

  2. N2 The Moon is a poor practice ground for Mars.

    Why Mars has an atmosphere, stronger gravity, long communication delays and trips measured in years. Landing on the Moon teaches different skills, so Moon hardware may not carry over.

    Evidence NASA’s 2024 Mars challenges workshop paper, noting an 850-day example mission, 22-minute one-way delays and limited lessons from lunar aborts.

    Best answer The affirmative replies that life support, suits, surface operations and long missions far from Earth all carry over, even if landing does not.

  3. N3 Money and time are limited.

    Why NASA’s budget is a small, fairly flat share of federal spending. Every dollar and year spent on lunar landings is a dollar and year not spent on Mars.

    Evidence NASA Inspector General (2021): about $93 billion on Artemis through fiscal year 2025 and about $4.1 billion for each launch of the rocket and capsule through Artemis IV; NASA’s small, flat share of federal spending.

    Best answer The affirmative answers that Mars systems, such as landers and life support, can be built while the Moon program runs, and Congress decides the budget.

  4. N4 We’ve already been to the Moon.

    Why Apollo landed twelve astronauts on the Moon. A bold new goal can inspire students and the public and draw support in a way a return trip may not.

    Evidence Apollo history; surveys of public interest in space goals.

    Best answer The affirmative replies that Apollo made short visits, and learning to stay and work on the Moon is a new and harder goal.

Strawman or steelman?

A strawman is a weak copy of the other side’s view, easy to knock down and unfair to the people who hold it. A steelman is that view at its strongest. Answer the steelman, and you’ve answered the real argument. (More on steelmanning.)

Affirmative (Moon first)

Strawman “They just want to redo Apollo because it’s familiar.”

Why it’s unfair Supporters argue for long stays, new technology and safety testing close to home, which Apollo never did.

Steelman The Moon is days from Earth, so it’s the safest place to test the life support, suits and surface work Mars will require before risking a crew months from help.

Negative (Mars first)

Strawman “They want to rush astronauts to Mars no matter the danger.”

Why it’s unfair Mars-first supporters usually want careful testing too, but through other means than lunar landings.

Steelman Mars holds the biggest scientific questions, and the Moon differs from Mars so much that landing there may delay Mars without preparing for it well.

Weak arguments to avoid

Affirmative (Moon first)

  • “We have to beat other countries to the Moon.” Competition may matter, but it doesn’t show that the Moon must come before Mars; tie your case to preparation and safety.

Negative (Mars first)

  • “The Moon is boring.” It’s a feeling, not an argument, and it ignores the Moon’s science and its use as a test site.

Questions for cross-examination

Ask the Affirmative (Moon first)

  1. Which Mars skills can only be practiced on the Moon?
  2. How many years would Moon landings delay the first Mars mission?
  3. If the money ran short, which would you cut first?

Ask the Negative (Mars first)

  1. Where would you test a Mars lander and life support before sending a crew?
  2. How would a crew get home if something failed on the way to Mars?
  3. Should NASA stop the Artemis landings already being built?

Reading on both sides

Read at least one source from each side before you debate. Look up each source’s author and publisher too: who wrote it is part of the evidence.

Background and overviews

Both sides in one place

Mostly Affirmative (Moon first)

Mostly Negative (Mars first)

  • Mars Direct, Grokipedia. A well-known 1990 plan to go to Mars without a lunar program first

Practice this topic

Sources for the background

  1. Artemis II Splashdown and Recovery Operations, NASA (2026-04-22). Accessed 2026-10-25.
  2. NASA Adds Mission to Artemis Lunar Program, Updates Architecture, NASA (2026-02-27). Accessed 2026-10-25.
  3. NASA Shares Artemis Acceleration Plans for Moon Missions, NASA (2026-10-23). Accessed 2026-10-25.
  4. Moon to Mars Objectives (executive summary), NASA (2022-09). Accessed 2026-10-25.
  5. Mars Architecture Challenges (2024 Moon to Mars Architecture Workshop white paper), NASA (2024). Accessed 2026-10-25.
  6. NASA's Management of the Artemis Missions (IG-22-003), NASA Office of Inspector General (2021-11-15). Accessed 2026-10-26.

Teddy Rook Book doesn’t take a side on this resolution. Updated 2026-10-26.

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