2 ms·
What is the point of colonising (not exploring) Mars. It just seems a dead, barren wasteland that is only of interest to geologists and other highly specialized
by 5350-uiop-1130 5y ago
What is the point of colonising (not exploring) Mars. It just seems a dead, barren wasteland that is only of interest to geologists and other highly specialized scientists.
- qgin 5y agoThe longer term idea would be to make it into a non-dead, non-barren place. The main purpose would be to take the first step towards protecting human civilization against being completely wiped out in a planet-scale disaster, whether human-caused (nuclear war) or natural (supervolcano, giant asteroid hit)
- 5350-uiop-1130 5y agoI know it's not either or but seems that money is better spent protecting the Earth. The idea of terraforming Mars is kind of beyond even science fiction. I think the money would be better spent building larger, more comfortable space stations. Think something between the ISS and DS9 :D
- flembat 5y agoThere are bilions of us, we can do more than one thing at a time.
- flembat 5y agoMars is a lethal desert, but it has gravity, some atmosphere, and water, making it better than most places for a species with our current level of technology. Floating cities in the atmospheres of gas giants, or underwater cities on ice moons might be better long term, but we can't do that sort of thing yet. Life may be rare and unusual, we need to ensure it does not end with Earth.