A reason for going to Mars

Schonert Edward wrote:

> Rick! If we build first 10,000 population colony on moon
> like you're suggesting I can only see a dead-end
> for followup just like happened with Apollo missions.

I can't agree with that. The Moon is a rich source of materials, and
the only such source of materials in cislunar space that isn't at the
bottom of a deep gravity well. It's going to be a major exporter of
oxygen, iron, magnesium, calcium, nickel, titanium, etc. It's also
going to be a major tourist destination for centuries to come. A 10K
population would be about right to run all those mining, refining,
export, and tourism operations.

> If instead we build first colony in or adjacent to a Mars
> moon the followup will be construction of duplicate
> colonies which will eventually be home to billions.

That'll be even more the case for cislunar colonies.

Best,
- Joe