Dr. Wendell Achebe is the NASA Associate Administrator who, in December 2062, summarized the American civilian space programme’s position in the emerging Mars race without editorializing: “We are not choosing not to go to Mars. We are choosing, every year, a slightly smaller version of staying at the Moon, and at some point those choices become the same choice.”
His FY2063 budget request was the smallest in real terms since before Apollo. ALSO-2’s crew rotation had shrunk to a single four-person increment per year by 2060. No American company had proposed a crewed Mars transit vehicle since the mid-2040s. Dr. Priya Ramanathan notes he is no relation to Senator Devon Marsh.