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> I think we have people who try to make sure that we don't contaminate Mars with Earth bacteria any more than we can avoid. Given Elon Musk's goal is explicit

• ufmace 9y ago
  That makes me wonder too - if he has the money and the rockets, can he just go ahead and set up a colony on Mars, or will some Government or combination of Governments object? Do the people of Earth generally have a right to have some level of say in who can set up a colony on Mars and what they can do with it, or can a couple of dozen rich guys just do whatever they feel like?
  • sfifs 9y ago
    They can do pretty much what they want unless there is a political movement in multiple countries to stop it. In other words, there has to be profit for a bunch politicians to stop it or what they're doing has to be highly morally unpalatable. Given there is no apparent profit for Elon Musk in going to Mars in the first place, it's unlikely a bunch of politicians will find profit in stopping him. There's probably votes in smoothing things over for him because hope always wins more votes than negativity.