Part of the reason for trying to go to Mars should be to demonstrate that this great nation can once again achieve great things by putting our utmost effort towards a goal. To achieve this goal, the United States cannot do it alone. This will have to be a unified effort unlike anything the nation's space program has ever seen. Using commercial, military and multinational support from across the space sector to get the mission done right. The financial burden alone of missions like these will be too great for any one country to bear. The current estimated figure could reach six billion dollars for the first mission. Once the financial environment is defined, attention should still turn to sending robotic probes to the surface and orbit of Mars to continuously study the planet. "By reorienting our Mars space program for America's future, we can restore the sense of wonder and adventure in space exploration that we knew in the summer of 1969. We won the race to the moon; now it's time for us to live and work on Mars, first on its moons and then on its surface." - Buzz