NOTE: THIS IS AN OUTLINE, NOT A COMPLETE ESSAY. With the high profile success of the recent NASA missions to the planet Mars, placing three probes in orbit and two rovers on the surface, the public attention is once again on space exploration, and the President has proposed a manned mission to Mars. But controversy surrounds the price tag and usefulness of a manned mission. Should this audacious goal become NASAs primary task? Or is the current program of robotic exploration a more valuable route?
