Conspiracy alert: Obama is a pawn of the powerful Mars lobby.To paraphrase this smart Tweet, the arguments surrounding Obama’s new space plan are like those that engulfed health care reform, only backwards: the President is privatizing, while Republicans are demanding more government jobs.So little surprise then, that Boeing would find Obama’s call for a visit to Mars within the next decade “encouraging.”We support the president’s call for increased investment in heavy-lift launch vehicle technology, but we believe the United States should be on a clear path to accelerate the development and production of this critical system, along with a deep-space capsule. Both of these vehicles are essential to any deep-space exploration mission. We have the technology and the people to commence development of these vehicles now. A plan that includes a heavy-lift vehicle would enable space exploration supported by humans, large-array telescopes and deep-space robotic missions. It could achieve maximum benefit from American tax dollars by drawing on the cutting-edge technology already being developed for the Constellation program.Dibs on the windowseat for the Mars Rover Dreamliner’s inaugural launch in 2020!