Article: Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin calls for mission to Mars

ALAMEDA -- NASA officials may be planning more manned missions to the moon, but an astronaut who has already walked on its dusty surface would prefer a program that aimed higher.

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who stood on the moon 40 years ago this month, said a mission to Phobos, a moon of Mars, would position the United States as a space exploration leader.

"Nearly 50 years ago we pioneered the moon," Aldrin said. "Why are we going to back to pioneer the moon again? Let's leave that to somebody else."

A United States goal of heading straight for the Red Planet -- launched as part of an international effort that would join with business to explore the moon -- could be more ...

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