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The moon: - Much lower g ~1/6th g - 2 week long nights and days. - Extremes in temperature: -280 to +260F - Questionable mineral deposits and water is more

The moon: - Much lower g ~1/6th g - 2 week long nights and days. - Extremes in temperature: -280 to +260F - Questionable mineral deposits and water is more isolated. - Much smaller surface area. - Zero potential for terraforming. - Zero atmosphere. - Aesthetically homogenous. - Very poor 'weather' - in that it practically rains asteroids on the moon. Granted this is all over the moon, and so any given individual or building's chances of getting hit are extremely low, but as we increase the number of people/buildings, getting hit by asteroids will be a regular occurrence. - Plant growth would need to be 100% driven by external support. ----- Mars: - 1/3rd g - Day and night cycle near identical to Earth - Reasonable temperature ranges. About -100 to +70 F, varying depending on the seasons - which it also has 4 of, like Earth. - Extremely rich mineral deposits. The most evident being the planet's color, which is caused by iron oxide - rust. - Water everywhere. The soil is moist containing about a liter of water per cubic foot. Something "The Martian" accidentally got wrong, as this was a major discovery of Curiosity, after the book had been written. - Surface area oddly near identical to the land area of Earth. - Huge potential for terraforming - from creating magnetic fields in various ways to simply nuking the poles, which are made of dry ice (CO2), and letting it thicken up the atmosphere - A thin atmosphere, but an atmosphere comprised mainly of handy CO2. For instance the Sabatier Reaction can be used to create methane with a byproduct of water from hydrogen and CO2 - both widely available on Mars. - Aesthetically diverse - at one time orders of magnitude more. We'll be exploring and discovery Mars' secrets for decades and perhaps centuries once we get feet on the ground. Our rovers and probes have only scratched the surface, figuratively and literally. - Excellent weather. Hit by relatively minimal asteroids and the thin atmosphere makes even the worst storm on Mars feel like a slight breeve - the one key thing "The Martian" faked. Come to think of it, a hard sci fi book having to rely on an impossible event to trigger a catastrophe on Mars is a pretty good sign. - Martian soil actually contains everything that's needed to natively grow plants! [1] Sourcing this point since it borders on unbelievable. [1] - https://www.nasa.gov/feature/can-plants-grow-with-mars-soil https://www.nasa.gov/feature/can-plants-grow-with-mars-soil

perilunar 8y ago
Asteroids: - create whatever level g you want - create whatever day-night cycle you want - create whatever atmosphere and temperature range you want - create as much surface area as you want, potentially millions of Earth's worth - no need to terraform: build the habitat you want from the start - solar power continuously available - wide variety of mineral deposits available - plenty of water available
andygates 8y ago
That day-night cycle isn't to be downplayed. A greenhouse on Mars is a totally viable approach to feeding the locals - you just need to keep the air in, and air processing is a helpful second use. On the Moon all that stuff must be done in a more energy intensive, techy way.

perilunar 8y ago

Asteroids: - create whatever level g you want - create whatever day-night cycle you want - create whatever atmosphere and temperature range you want - create as much surface area as you want, potentially millions of Earth's worth - no need to terraform: build the habitat you want from the start - solar power continuously available - wide variety of mineral deposits available - plenty of water available

andygates 8y ago

That day-night cycle isn't to be downplayed. A greenhouse on Mars is a totally viable approach to feeding the locals - you just need to keep the air in, and air processing is a helpful second use. On the Moon all that stuff must be done in a more energy intensive, techy way.