It was a good news/bad news week when it comes to Mars exploration.

On one hand, SpaceX announced plans to launch a Dragon spacecraft to Mars as early as 2018. On the other, NASA scaled back funding for a critical landing demonstration needed for a Mars landing.

While it might be a setback for NASA, Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy for the Planetary Society, thinks there’s a lesson to be learned here: when it comes to Mars, you’ve got to have a plan.

Casey joins the podcast via Skype to talk about a piece he wrote for the Planetary Society: “What NASA Can Learn from SpaceX. A man, a plan, Mars”

It was a good news/bad news week when it comes to Mars exploration.

On one hand, SpaceX announced plans to launch a Dragon spacecraft to Mars as early as 2018. On the other, NASA scaled back funding for a critical landing demonstration needed for a Mars landing.

While it might be a setback for NASA, Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy for the Planetary Society, thinks there’s a lesson to be learned here: when it comes to Mars, you’ve got to have a plan.

Casey joins the podcast via Skype to talk about a piece he wrote for the Planetary Society: “What NASA Can Learn from SpaceX. A man, a plan, Mars”