I have a new article published over on my Across the Universe blog for The Guardian.

"Nasa may be taking the 'easy option' by funding another trip to Mars when it could be sailing the methane seas of Titan.

Just a few weeks ago I was worrying about the future of Mars exploration. Now I'm thinking, 'Mars - again?'

On Monday we learned that Nasa would fund the InSight mission, which will investigate the interior of the red planet using seismometers and other instruments. The agency chose InSight over a voyage on the methane seas of Saturn's moon Titan; or a hop, skip and jump across the surface of a comet.

The decision drew criticism that the agency is becoming fixated on Mars. Carolyn Porco, who works on Nasa's ageing Saturn mission Cassini, stated that there is "too much emphasis on Mars in our current plans for planetary exploration". ..."

You can read the full article here.