re: NASA planning manned mission to Venus

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However...why don't we work towards actually going back to the moon and setting up a base of operations there, which should be a lot easier, and then work on going to Mars which should be achievable in our lifetimes?

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The moon missions illustrated the unreasonable expense and danger of manned missions to solar bodies. The push to develop AI missions that are far cheaper and include expendable components is sustaining space exploration. No government is willing to put forth the money needed for a manned mission to Mars, much less Venus.