Water and Ice

One of the things that dosen't make sense to me is why we have to colonize
big planets first in the order out from earth's orbit. Must we settle Mars
and other planets first?

It seem to me that when we take into consideration that time, not energy, is
the main factor in transportation, and that resources can be gained more
easily from small mass objects than from larger mass objects like planets.

It seems to me that progress would be better measured in going in going to:
LEO
NEOs
Moon
L4 and L5
Marian Moons as transfer stations
Asteroids
Jupiter's moon Ganymede

Those are, in my consideration the key points of future solar economy,
especially L4, L5, asteroids and Ganymede. L4 and L5 are most stable points
in near frontier, suitable for both home and industrial bases. Asteroids for
the vast material riches that can be depended on as steady source of supplies
for a long time. Ganymede while planet-sized is also one of the largest
sources of ice that can be transported to anywhere in system, thanks to
Jupiter's gravity as a booster to cargo's verocity. If we put our attention
on those places after a foothold in LEO and NEOs, we can speed up the
economic development because we would have sources that provide stablity for
investment. The rest of the system would be easier to colonized once we have
colonized those key points.

Carl Mullin