[amanaplanacanal]

The moon would do the job at a lot cheaper price.

[bryanlarsen]

Nope. Because of aero braking, Mars takes less delta v to get to and land on than the moon does.

[amanaplanacanal]

Now I'm wondering why the Apollo program went to the moon if doing Mars is so much cheaper.

[bryanlarsen]

Going is cheaper. Coming back is more expensive. And of course the 3-6 month travel time is a challenge.