4 ms·

I'd think its much more likely we'd be sending people to Mars on a regular basis if we found out there is something valuable there. If space tourism was suffici

I'd think its much more likely we'd be sending people to Mars on a regular basis if we found out there is something valuable there. If space tourism was sufficient to foot the bill for space travel, we'd be sending school field trips to the moon by now.

danielweber 14y ago
The people who colonize Mars probably won't make a profit off of it. It will be consumption spending, like funding a yachting team. If it ever turns out to be profitable in a pure economic sense, it will take a long time for that to happen. Yet they will still do it joyfully.
- spking 14y ago
  The people who first colonize it will probably spend decades building the atmosphere and heating it up (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming#Mars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming#Mars)
mladenkovacevic 14y ago
I've got a hunch this is why Curiosity is equipped with a high-tech geology kit.. "If we find traces of life, wonderful! But if we find large quantities of easily retrievable oil, precious metals or rare-earth minerals? We're in business!"
- rwhitman 14y ago
  Exactly. The race to the moon was justified by national security, but really there isn't much economic incentive to explore Mars... yet. NASA needs to find good reasons to keep going back.
  - waterlesscloud 14y ago
    I think traces of life become the biggest obstacle to a manned mission. The "preserve mars" crowd will form overnight.
    - mladenkovacevic 14y ago
      Oh boy, that almost sounds like a real-life Futurama episode in the making.
Pfhreak 14y ago
The value of materials on Mars will need to take into account the incredible expense of moving the material off planet. It's unlikely that will ever be cheaper than recycling the materials we have here on Earth. This is especially true if Planetary Resources succeeds in mining asteroids. If we can get cheap resources from our asteroids, getting them from Mars will be out of the question. Orbital mining and habitat construction is roughly similar level of difficulty and much more economically viable. If we go to Mars (and we should), it won't be for pure economic reasons.

danielweber 14y ago

The people who colonize Mars probably won't make a profit off of it. It will be consumption spending, like funding a yachting team. If it ever turns out to be profitable in a pure economic sense, it will take a long time for that to happen. Yet they will still do it joyfully.

spking 14y ago
The people who first colonize it will probably spend decades building the atmosphere and heating it up (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming#Mars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming#Mars)

mladenkovacevic 14y ago

I've got a hunch this is why Curiosity is equipped with a high-tech geology kit.. "If we find traces of life, wonderful! But if we find large quantities of easily retrievable oil, precious metals or rare-earth minerals? We're in business!"

rwhitman 14y ago
Exactly. The race to the moon was justified by national security, but really there isn't much economic incentive to explore Mars... yet. NASA needs to find good reasons to keep going back.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  I think traces of life become the biggest obstacle to a manned mission. The "preserve mars" crowd will form overnight.
  - mladenkovacevic 14y ago
    Oh boy, that almost sounds like a real-life Futurama episode in the making.

Pfhreak 14y ago

The value of materials on Mars will need to take into account the incredible expense of moving the material off planet. It's unlikely that will ever be cheaper than recycling the materials we have here on Earth. This is especially true if Planetary Resources succeeds in mining asteroids. If we can get cheap resources from our asteroids, getting them from Mars will be out of the question. Orbital mining and habitat construction is roughly similar level of difficulty and much more economically viable. If we go to Mars (and we should), it won't be for pure economic reasons.