Except SpaceX isn't setting records by landing Dragon on the Moon, and it doesn't test out the kind of conditions they want. For the same amount of money, they could do another Mars landing attempt.
Which is what I think they'll do.
There's a good reason for anyone wanting to colonize mars to take an interest in asteroids first, namely Phobos. You couldn't ask for a better way-station for Mars, for more reasons than I will go into here. Phobos makes doing Mars easier. And if you want to size up opreations on Phobos while getting to know it better why not pick the easiest NEO you can find as a test.
There's a good reason for anyone wanting to colonize mars to take an interest in asteroids first, namely Phobos. You couldn't ask for a better way-station for Mars, for more reasons than I will go into here. Phobos makes doing Mars easier. And if you want to size up opreations on Phobos while getting to know it better why not pick the easiest NEO you can find as a test.
Looks like BFS will do a direct EDL on Mars. Since BFS isn't stopping in Mars orbit before landing, Phobos can wait.
A mission to 2016 HO3 is a good idea, but it doesn't fit with what we know of SpaceX plans.
