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Why? You don't have in space anything which you didn't bring there from a surface. On a planet you have resources at least. Also you have radiation shielding an
by avmich 7y ago
Why? You don't have in space anything which you didn't bring there from a surface. On a planet you have resources at least. Also you have radiation shielding and no necessity to tie all small things from floating away.
In order to make anything in a space station, you have to bring something from outside. Not so on a planet.
- jacobr1 6y agoThe point is one of bootstrapping. IF you must build up a critical mass of space-based infrastructure in order to colonize a planet - do you still need to colonize the planet, or just continue on with the space based infra? Especially if you can capture sufficient resources from the asteroid belt.
- avmich 6y agoCapturing resources from asteroids could be more expensive than from the planet, given the infrastructure on the planet. So you may make an investment - spend initially to make a planet base, then enjoy smaller expenses. Maybe the question is of comparison - how big space infrastructure one need to colonize the planet comparing to returns from planet base. Is it obvious that planet returns are smaller?