A reason to go to Mars

Very good points.

Too many of those first customers will still bring with them the
attitudes and bias of terrestrial living.

More will prefer to settle inside the gravity well at first, no
matter which ultimately has a better economic outlook.

If that were not true, them most of the lower 48 would have emptied
into Alaska a very long time ago.

I would rather not suggest that any one is ultimately better, except
to say that my personal preferences tend towards Mars. For now anyway.

I am curious about the difference in compositions of regoliths too.
What field are you pointing your rocket towards? The main solar
Asteroid Belt? Maybe there are spectral maps of material resources
available.

That would be a good question for the astronomers.

Thanks again for the good ideas Mike.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "Combs, Mike"
>Colonization is primarily an economic activity. The next target for
colonization will probably be determined more by which locations
provide economic opportunities. Right now, there's only one customer
in the Solar System to sell to, and that's Earth people. This points
to colonization starting out in locations with easy access to the
Earth. If there's money to be made, that's where we'll be, and we'll
work out how to support life there whatever way we have to.
>
> Interesting points you raise about Mars regolith. I wonder what
the comparison would be with asteroidal soil.