What do you think will happen first: Man on Mars or Moon colonization?

**Megas Methuselah** · 12-17-2008, 23:09

Why would we colonize the moon? To prove a point?

**Papewaio** · 12-18-2008, 02:45

H3

**Megas Methuselah** · 12-18-2008, 07:41

Why would we send a man to Mars? To prove a point?

**LittleGrizzly** · 12-18-2008, 10:57

Yeah in the majority here, man will walk on mars first, though i suppose it does depend on how basic the colony has to be... could you call the mirr (sp ?) space station a little colony in space ?

I expect us to walk on Mars with two decades... moon colonisation would be a bit further away i think, perhaps it would be colonised for future further afield space flights ?

**PBI** · 12-18-2008, 13:29

I would hope for moon colonization first (by this I mean simply the establishment of a permanent small research base, similar in size and function to the ISS). This is simply because I suspect it would cost about the same but have a great deal more research value than simply a one-off shot to Mars, which as far as I can gather is primarily a prestige mission.

Of course, I would really prefer the money to be spent on unmanned probes, they are a lot cheaper and much more useful than manned missions.

**LittleGrizzly** · 12-18-2008, 17:35

Im not so sure, we have had various technological advancements thanks to NASA, so im sure a mars mission would bring more than just prestige, though im not sure which would better benefit humanity....

**Ramses II CP** · 12-18-2008, 17:45

I dunno about 'colonization,' but a permanant presence on the moon is inevitable. I personally do not expect the US to accomplish it before our window of ascendency passes, but it will occur.

A manned mission to Mars is entirely frivolous, and, frankly, a quaint hold-over from the 50s and 60s era Sci Fi community. We'll be visiting the asteroid belt before we set foot on Mars. The fact is once you've reached the level of zero-G industry which is, IMHO, necessary for a realistic Mars shot there's no point in descending back into the gravity well of a functionally useless planet at the end of the journey.

**Vladimir** · 01-12-2009, 17:39

Originally Posted by Papewaio

H3

He3. I surely hope so.

**Ratwar** · 01-13-2009, 17:42

Depends on your definition of 'Colony'. I mean, if you call the ISS a colony, then we'll colonize the Moon first. Otherwise, I think a one shot trip to Mars is the most likely. Remember, this doesn't have to be done by NASA. Don't tell me that some of the worlds budding space agencies in China or India wouldn't love to beat NASA to Mars.

**Wishazu** · 01-13-2009, 19:45

I think that both will happen at almost exactly the same time, after the Singularity has occured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_singularity

If I had to absolutely claim that one would happen before the other, I believe that flying to Mars in the near future will be easier than establishing a base on the Moon. I`m not sure about actually walking on Mars though.