No, but it does make sense to finish what was started on the Moon before
running off for another flags-and-footprints mission to another planet.
The Moon is the key to the solar system; we should be developing that
aggressively and milking its mineral, energy, and volatile chemicals for
all it's worth in order to bootstrap ourselves into a spacefaring
nation. Visiting Mars doesn't do any of that, but it will be easy to do
anyway once cislunar space has been developed.


The energy requirements for going to Mars are about the same as for going to
the moon when the planets are properly aligned. I don't see that we necessarily
have to choose. We can send missions to the Moon as often as we like, the
distance stays relatively constant, the window of opportunity to Mars opens up
only every 2 years.

Tom