3 ms·

I'm personally convinced his long term, possibly unspoken, goal is mining asteroids. Getting a foothold on Mars seems like a logical, and necessary next step a

• Pinckney 11y ago
  Why Mars? If all you want to do is mine asteroids, what sense is there in clawing your way out of a deep gravity well, only to jump down to the bottom of another one? Why not Ceres or Hygiea or Vesta or any of the other minor solar system bodies?
  • epimetheus 11y ago
    I think it's more of an appeal - visiting and colonizing Mars is more alluring than mining. I think there's benefit to having a base there though, even at the bottom of a gravity well (1/3 that of Earth so not the same kind of fight). Some pros to having a base on Mars could be families of miners can live "close by" miners (or those that operate and/or maintain the telepresence or self driving mining equipment, and possibly a place to do any sort of processing. Also, there could be mining possibilities on Mars as well, and without all the environmental issues we'd have to consider on Earth. The "all of the eggs in one basket" aspect is certainly one I can get behind, but I think there's monetary gain is probably a more powerful motivator to those that have the most influence.