3 ms·

Better yet, why not asteroids first? If we really want to be living in space, don't switch one gravity well for a much shittier one.

• zaphar 10y ago
  Well for one thing living in a gravity well is healthier for humans. We don't do very well long term in 0 gravity. Our systems work best when gravity is helping things along.
  • abecedarius 10y ago
    You spin up your station. You're not limited to whatever accidental value holds on the planetary surface. This was all studied back in the 1970s and 80s, and free-space development makes way more sense: http://www.nss.org/settlement/ColoniesInSpace/ http://www.nss.org/settlement/ColoniesInSpace/
    • andygates 10y ago
      And this adds a whole new set of engineering challenges and project risk. Nobody's spun up anything bigger than a rocket stage to date.
      • abecedarius 10y ago
        Of course space settlement is many steps away; so is a permanent settlement on Mars. You need to analyze the payoffs and costs and intermediates and uncertainties for each.