I say, why waste time going to Mars, when you can shoot for the stars! We
need to set our goals and/or expectations higher or farther actually. While
it would be a very cool thing to have some fellow Humans residing on Mars,
it's getting there in a vastly improved capacity that will enable any
destination in space more practical.
BTW, I have a question about
Venus's polar regions... Wouldn't they be a more likely choice to plan a
scientific outpost or habitat, rather than Mars? Due to the distance, Mars
tends
to be too cold and it's terrain is too dry, so why even entertain the idea
of trying to survive there?
We should build space stations either in orbit and/or
geosynchronous orbit around all the innerplanets and/or their satellites, and
then make travel to those destinations on a regular basis. Trying to live in
extreme conditions on an inhospitable planet doesn't make too much sense
except for resources, and should be done on a limited basis.
To me, it's
more feasible to have space stations in thruout innerplanetary locations as
a first step to permanently occupying space. </HTML>
