Flag on the moon

Yo, if Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon, who filmed him getting down the stairs?

The months a journey to Mars takes will probably mean a difference between life and death for the crew in case something goes wrong. And let's face it, something probably will go wrong, because no one on Earth has field-tested planet colonization technologies. Why not test it all out with a Moon colony? That would be much safer as well as cheaper. Besides, the Moon is attractive for its He₃ deposits.

So why all the Mars hype all of a sudden? I'm looking at you, NASA, ESA, Russia, China etc.