The question is the trade-off between harder-to-reach Mars and harder-to-live on Moon.
What's the immediate goal of a Lunar base?What necessitates increasing the size of a lunar base from 0 people to 3 people, from 3 people to 100, from 100 to 3000? What do we get out of it?A Lunar mass driver (maglev + linear induction motor) aimed at the horizon is a hell of a thing for getting mass amounts of resources back to Earth... but what's the Moon got that Siberia doesn't?If the terminal goal is only to seek out self-sustaining incremental terraforming / Marsbase-building strategies, the Moon is just not helpful for learning about Mars. If the terminal goal is to learn about building stations without in situ resources - well then we already have LEO for that, and we don't have to worry so much about radiation there in the meantime.Essentially the only major thing the Moon has got, is a much shorter and more frequent trip. Aerobraking at Mars (a technology with a boatload of compelling improvements in the pipeline) cancels out almost the entire dV advantage of the Moon being so much closer. If we build that aforementioned mass driver, it improves the economics of return to LEO quite a bit, but what would justify the huge investment to get to that point?Radiation shielding and an in situ smelter / machine shop perhaps, as a replacement for mass brought up from Earth's gravity well? That only works when there's sufficient demand in LEO, something that's only going to be true when there's thousands of people moving there every year.
What's the immediate goal of a Lunar base?
What's the immediate goal of a Lunar base?What necessitates increasing the size of a lunar base from 0 people to 3 people, from 3 people to 100, from 100 to 3000? What do we get out of it?
Until we develop rapid non-chemical interplanetary travel I see the moon as our most obvious gravity well to visit and settle. I see it as Moon, the Rocks, then Mars in that order. Our version of Canaries, Azores, Americas.
And so the "Moon first! No, Mars first!" flame war has been reignited for the seventeen gazillionth time.
what would make you change your mind ?
savuporo,Ok, I accept your invitation and will be serious (at least as much as I can... )...(4) it's cheaper. We already have demonstrated our technology can do that 40 years ago.