Aldrin and Armstrong urge Nasa to put man on Mars

THE astronauts who first landed on the moon aren’t dwelling on their small lunar steps. Instead, two of them urged mankind to take a giant leap to Mars.

In one of their few joint public appearances, the crew of Apollo 11 spoke on the 40th anniversary of man’s first landing on the moon, but avoided nostalgia. They instead spoke about the future and the more distant past.

Yesterday, the three astronauts will get another chance to make the pitch for a Mars trip, this time to someone with a little more sway: President Barack Obama.