Exactly. Right now all our eggs are in one basket.

There are also always new discoveries that come with space exploration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spinoff_technologies

Maybe we should colonize the moon first. It would teach us a lot about living in space, plus what works and doesn't against radiation, freezing/hot climates.

We haven't even explored 10% of our oceans yet. Shouldn't we start there first?

I don't know about you but after I die does it really doesn't matter if our species last another 1000 years?

Good plan would include not to eff it up any more here on Earth.

I think floating cities in the atmosphere of Venus would be better than Mars. Atmosphere to protect from radiation. Plenty of solar power. Gravity about like what we are used to. Pick a level in the atmosphere where the pressure is about like here on Earth. The air we breathe is a lot lighter than the CO2 that makes up 96.5% of the atmosphere of Venus, so at the same pressure, a big blimp full of our air would hold up a lot of weight.

The wind would be a problem, though. Probably easier than the Mars problems.

edit: Plus: Venus is already as globally warmed as it can get.

Good question. The short answer is Mars has a lot more resources. It has an atmosphere, and carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen are all vastly more available and accessible on Mars. Additionally from what we know right now, most of the water on the moon is at the poles, which receives no direct sunlight. Mars in contrast has water all over and in direct sunlight. So the punchline is that the moon might make a great stopping off point, but in terms of long term habitability, Mars is actually easier.

I completely agree the moon should be a stepping stone prior to Mars. NASA is already working on that which is why I think Elon is jumping straight to Mars. He'll learn from what NASA does on the moon without going to the moon himself.

It's not as if nobody is exploring the oceans. That's being done already. It's not a one or the other situation.

Parents love their kids. Grandparents love their grandkids. Great Grandparents love their great grandkids. If you extrapolate that out, is there a point we should stop caring about future generations? IMO no. The future of our species is important, at least in my eyes.

Elon is going to the moon next year. It's just not his primary target, but he does view it as a stepping stone. Another reason the moon doesn't work great is it's light/dark cycle. Two weeks of direct sunlight, two weeks of darkness. Doesn't work for plants.

Moon has very sharp moon dust because of no erosion from water or wind. That stuff gets everywhere and is really nasty. Mars at least has a thin atmosphere so wind can smooth off the sharp edges of the dust.

What about Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates? Are just going to sit back and let Elon dominate Mars?

There's a petition with 60k signatures out there for Bezos to go to outer space and not come back. Lol

Eff that guy.

Elon > Bezos

Just three questions:

1 - Why?
2 - Why?
3 - Why?

Just wanted to add something to the discussion. The Mars bar was once my favorite candy bar. Thank you.

Lets tap the brakes a little. How about we actually land someone on the moon and figure out if the earth is flat or not before we start making plans to building a Four Season resort on Mars.

I am frankly shocked one of our OT miscreants hasn’t mentioned “another” planet to visit