I mean, I wouldn’t call it “useless”. There’s almost certainly a benefit to the science and technology that can move people to Mars safely and transform it into a habitable place.
But “We’re going to Mars!” as a mission is a fantasy. “We’re going to keep investing in blue sky research until we have advanced enough technology to make Mars a feasible destination” is where the money is at.
Hard to say with the irregular shape, but they’re close.
What really gets me is how small Mars is relative to Earth and Venus.
The picture got me curious, so I went to check on Wikipedia. It’s just bonkers that moons are bigger than planets.
Kinda shows how useless the fantasy of living on Mars really is. Not only is this a barren wasteland, it’s also a tiny barren wasteland.
I/3 the gravity as well, so watch out for that bone density
I mean, I wouldn’t call it “useless”. There’s almost certainly a benefit to the science and technology that can move people to Mars safely and transform it into a habitable place.
But “We’re going to Mars!” as a mission is a fantasy. “We’re going to keep investing in blue sky research until we have advanced enough technology to make Mars a feasible destination” is where the money is at.