> I mean, when Mars gets colonised, what's to stop Mars from becoming a superpower in the Sol system within a very short period of time? Pretty much nothing. A

> I mean, when Mars gets colonised, what's to stop Mars from becoming a superpower in the Sol system within a very short period of time? Pretty much nothing. Aside from the enormous cost of moving the (many, many) needed resources from the Earth to Mars. I'm super bullish on a Mars colony (I will be going within 5 years of it becoming an option) but the idea that it will be even 100% self-sustaining in the next 100 years -- let alone a superpower -- is absolutely bananas.