need a hand with a plot element

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "janet_baker76"
wrote:
>
> Hi, Settlers,
>
> Would you give me a hand with something I need in a story? First,
> what would you call rather small communities, designed to hold
several
> generations of a family or several families, which are a cross
between
> space colonies and space ships insofar as they are intended to
venture
> into deep space over a long period of time?

I once toyed with the idea of using a Island One Stanford Torus to
drift from earth to Mars to transport a major exploration force and
to provide them with a base of operations.
>
> And second, what would be a plausible economic mission of such a
> ship/dwelling? In other words, what do we need in deep space that
we
> cannot get from objects in the near vicinity of earth?

Certainly Mars exploration in search of mineral wealth and other
assets could be deamed an economic purpose. And the same can be said
of Venus. Certainly a space island could also serve as a base of
operations for Terraformation work.

However unless there is something unique to either planet, both would
be self defeating since mineral weallt can be more easily acquired
mining asteroids and comets.