| Don't forget the other possibility when you consider Martian colonization. Remember, the further out we go the longer it takes to get there (damn, where's the warp drive when you need it?).
You are not likely to colonize Mars, even with terraforming, for a loooong time, at least not with regular humans. I'd say in just a few decades we will have the medical knowledge to breed a group of "adapted" humans suited for the trip as well as the stay, as there's not much point bringing them back.
Too bad Bush didn't save his great idea for going to Mars until AFTER the rover decided to take sick leave. He might not be so gung ho for the idea then.
Incidentally, this Bush fantasy about men on mars is just a political stunt, but he runs the show and NASA has to dance his way. However, did you know the Mars project will doom Hubble? The plans were already in the works to upgrade the thing 2 or 3 more times and make it 100 times better then the way it was when it went up, and it WORKS! If we get people to mars anytime soon, what will they do? Probably collect rocks and analyse the Martian surface with the same instruments the Rovers are equipped with.
Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots. |