Politicon wasn’t confined to terrestrial matters. Famed TV scientist Bill Nye revived a warm greeting at the start of the “How We Get to Mars” panel.

The answer, according to panel moderator Casey Drier, is that a human voyage to the red plant is a matter of when, not if.

But, the timetable could hinge on politics. Funding for space exploration also depends on congressional and White House priorities that don’t always align, said Lori Garver, a former NASA administrator who favors a public-private partnership to space exploration.

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Modern space exploration, Garver said, relies in private sector ventures like SpaceX. Gone, she said, are the days of a sense of urgency pushing interest and tax-dollar investment in NASA to put a man on the moon to beat the Soviet Union.

Nye, better known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” noted that Mars is airless, food-less and bitterly cold. So, why go?

“If we found evidence of life, it would change the world,” Nye said.

Later, he called for science education “every day in every grade” and added: “Space exploration brings out the best in us.”