Forty summers ago, the world was transfixed by the sight of you walking on the moon. Have we made any progress since the Apollo 11 flight?

Not a whole lot. We shifted our attention to low-earth orbit.

Meaning the shuttle program, which is about to end?

We’ve been concentrating on the shuttle, the space station and laying the groundwork for returning to the moon. The disturbing part is that, all this time, Russia has been concentrating on Phobos, a moon of Mars, and a number of us have recently realized just how significant that would be as a stepping stone to Mars.

Do you think Mars has more to offer than the moon?

Yes, much more. It’s much more terrestrial. It has a thin atmosphere and a day/night cycle that is very similar to ours. It has seasons. Russia perhaps is still entertaining the possibility that the moons of Mars might have access to ice or water.

Are you saying the moon has become passé?

It is not promising for commercial activities. It’s got science, it may have strategic values but I don’t believe it’s a requirement for Americans to be present to take advantage of the resources. Their viability can be determined by robots.