MATTBLAK - 5/8/2007 7:13 AMTerraforming Mars, or Venus & the Moon for that matter, would cost quadrillions of dollars and take centuries at best.
It would still take billions to trillions to establish self-sufficient lunar industry, but it's an order of magnitude more reasonable than doing all vehicle processing at the VAB...
MATTBLAK - 5/8/2007 5:13 AMTerraforming Mars, or Venus & the Moon for that matter, would cost quadrillions of dollars and take centuries at best. If an unoccupied, Earthlike planet were seen within a 'reasonable' travelling distance from us (less than 20 light years) with fusion or anti-matter propulsion technology, I'd say build starships and go there instead -- it'll be quicker and cheaper. But if a planet-finding telescope system saw no Earthlike planets 'nearby', then by all means Terraform Mars and use some of that technology to refurbish the Earth.
ryan mccabe - 5/8/2007 6:30 PM I would advocate that the path to terraforming a planet is to establish a massive automated industrial base on the Moon. Raw materials on the moon are free, and if we have an army of robots doing our bidding, there are no wages to pay either. If we can make the lunar industry entirely self-sufficient, the only costs are research and development. Engineers would design our spacecraft and vehicles on Earth, then radio the CAD files up to our construction robots on the Moon. A few months/years later, our product is ready.