"NASA refused to comment on the information about the Russian expedition to Mars, but they said that they are studying the project with great interest. An American astronaut might possibly join the Russian cosmonauts, taking into account of the fact that Russia and the U.S.A. manage to settle economic discrepancies," in terms of financial support for the program. Still, "America plans to spend money to help prepare for this grand project," in the future, the only question is how much and how fast, continued the Russian newspaper in 2001. Now, while such collaboration bodes well for diplomacy, it also acts as a deflating influence in terms of competition between nations -- the less necessary Mars flights are for American or Russian national security and reputation, the less apt politicians are to fund such efforts in financially strapped times. (Perepelkin, 2001)

Also, despite the good political will collaborations have generated in the past, moreover, Andrew Stephen cautioned in the peer-reviewed journal of politics, New Statesman, that "first, the International Space Station," the last collaborative project beween Russia and America, "has become a hugely costly project that does not do anything very useful. Nasa would be quite happy to abandon it, but America has binding agreements with Russia to continue its partial funding of it." (Stephen, 2004)

Stephen admits that cost is a concern for the U.S., but pride does also force it to carry on, even though, "very embarrassingly for the U.S., NASA now even has to rely on Russia for transporting astronauts to and from the station. The ageing space shuttle fleet has been grounded since the Columbia disaster a year ago. As a result, the U.S. cannot at present get human beings even into earth orbit." (Stephen, 2004) the embaressment of the shuttle difficulties has caused many, including President Bush himself, to keep alive the dreams of a mission to Mars as a form of image rehabilitation. (Zimmerman, 2003) but can the financial and safety costs justify so much, for comparatively little scientific or even political return?

For NASA, Mars remains an important long-term goal and a way of establishing political capital in Washington D.C. during a time where even necessary,...

Its official literature directed towards the public promotes Mars exploration, in the form of the Mars Rover and also in terms of the potential for "making the vision a reality" of manning a spacecraft to the Red Planet. But although refreshing in the breadth of its vision and the beauty of its prose, NASA remains cagey about the financial realities this mission would cost the United States, and working out the details of negotiating a truce or a peace pact regarding finances between the United States and Russia over such a mission. (NASA Official Website, 2005) in light of these difficulties, and the questions about safety such a mission poses, it might be best to spend the money that the space program is allocated in a more effective way, and focus less on Mars human exploration, than in learning about the rest of the solar system in a cheaper and equally, if nor more productive fashion.
Works Cited

Mars." The Columbia Encyclopedia. Sixth Edition. New York: Columbia University Press. 2001.

A www.bartleby.com/65/.[17 Mar 2005].

NASA. Official Website. "The vision for space exploration." http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/Anniversary_VisMar/index_noaccess.html.[17 Mar 2005].

Perepelkin, Stephan. "Russian cosmonauts will Travel to Mars in 2005." PRAVDA.Ru. 1 Apr 2002. http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/04/01/27272.html[17 Mar 2005]

Querna, Betsy. "Human Travel to Mars May Happen Sooner Than Expected, Scientists Say." National Geographic. 18 May 2001. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/05/0515_mars1.html[17 Mar 2005]

Querna, Betsy." Health Risks May Pose a Hurdle for Travel to Mars." National Geographic. 18 May 2001. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/05/0517_mars2.html[17Mar 2005]

Stephen, Andrew. "Bush's Announcement of a Mission to Mars." New Statesman. 2 Feb 2004. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FQP/is_4673_133/ai_n6109896[17Mar 2005]

Zimmerman, Robert. Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel. New York: J. Henry Press, 2003.