6 thoughts on “The Moon And Mars”

  1. Here is a good place to pose my question to pro-market, space afficianados:

    If Musk is successful and plants a colony on Mars, what is to say that ten years down the road, his successor will pull the plug because the colony is operating at a loss? I doubt the Mars colony as a welfare case will last very long.

    What type of exports could a Mars colony have? Are there low gravity industrial products that could be manufactured? Maybe new polymers or crystals?

    1. Elon Musk wants to retire on Mars. That isn’t a dollars-and-cents type of decision. There’s other factors in play besides the next quarter’s profit.

      1. Yes, that’s true. But somebody has to pay the bills. Maybe Musk will have a trust to fund station supplies. But if they don’t get a viable export, what will happen when they run out of money? If you are not looking at dollars and cents, then all you have is a type of utopian community.

        I think I understand you when you say that other factors can be at play. For example, religious freedom can play a significant role (and that may include the world’s first colony comprised only of atheists.) Mars may also be a stepping stone to the asteroid belt for mining.

        What do you think are the major factors at play besides money?

        1. I can only guess at what the other motivations might be. Personally, I don’t find Mars itself attractive as a destination. I like the top of the gravity well much better – Phobos or Deimos. However, I can think of one thing that cannot be exported from Mars which yet can hold value, and the value can be traded: land.

  2. the Moon has always been technically and financially feasible since 1969 Even with today’s feeble economy. Mars is becoming more technically feasible all the time.

    Question is:

    Why go there? Why settle? For what?

    I’ve read a lot of reasons (e.g. spread humans out to preserve the species in case the Earth gets hit by the Big One). But none of them are compelling enough to cause it to become of major interest to the masses.

    Musk wants to do it and that’s good. In fact that might be the best way to do it..private enterprise. Individuals can sometimes see opportunities that groups cannot.

    1. Freedom wasn’t compelling enough of a reason for emigration to America from Europe for most people in the 1700’s. Most Europeans stayed in Europe.

Comments are closed.