Martian arguments (Mike C's articles)

http://members.aol.com/oscarcombs/case_spc.htm#Robert_Zubrin

Mike makes good points about Zubrin's seemingly ignoring time scales.
One of my points about what Zubrin says is this comparison of time
for return on the effort.
Note that I don't say that space colonies themselves could be built
with the level of effort required to place tuna cans together on Mars,
but almost certainly, the same tonnage could begin a lunar or asteroid
mining process. (~100 tonnes to LEO per launch of a single tuna can)

Another point about the timescales for terraforming, is the ongoing
exploration of Mars. If we want to get more living areas soon, we'll
need to start terraforming ASAP.
What Z. never mentions is what the terraforming would do to the
Martian environment and its unique qualities. I am _not_ objecting to
harming the poor helpless Martian microbes, or the more air-headed
objection to the basic idea of "polluting" the natural state of Mars
to what we want ("the monumental hubris of it!").
What I'm referring to is the planetary science. As they say, the
surface area of Mars is comparable to the entire land area of Earth.
How long could it take us to completely explore it, and to understand
it intimately? Almost certainly longer than the (optimistic) ~50 years
before we could start warming the south polar cap with space mirrors,
and injecting perflourocarbon (pfc) greenhouse gasses via chemical
factories placed on the surface.
To the objection of harming any extant Martian microbes, Zubrin
returns "Sorry, but humans are more important than microbes". I agree,
but I submit that the unique & irreplaceable science opportunities on
Mars might just be more important than the near term, shortsighted
desire for a place to live -especially in light of the other
advantages offered by space settlements, and the fact that they make
Martian settlements redundant, superfluous and rapidly obsolete.

Aanother quaint idea in Zubrin's "Entering Space" concerns the idea of
using Martian resources as an export commodity.
He speculates about the likelyhood of using stationary beanstalks on
Mars. Lift ores & foodstuffs to Phobos (a ballast at synchronous
orbit. A Martian beanstalk is very tempting, and not too far out, if
needed -using presently forseeable materials in huge quantities), and
use a EM catapult to send it to markets at asteroids or Earth orbit.
I leave it to the reader to infer what this (and other things he's
said) says about his tunnel vision about the impossibility of space
settlements.

The imperative for a long term (generations), detailed exploration of
Mars is also why I like Diemos as an early site for a colony (or
downscale it to a 20-50 person base/habitat with shielding &
artificial G). With the ability to tether-drop packages anywhere on
the surface of Mars, and the provision of full Earth gravity between
sorties, combined with the immense water hole provided by Diemos ices,
the usefulness of the Ph&D moons is apparent.
An extremely vigorous exploration program can be supported by the
same base that sells water & chemicals to the solar system. Many kinds
of ices are probable -and note that these ices are available anywhere
you land on Diemos just by drilling. You don't have to explore a huge
planetary surface to find a bit of permafrost.