Marvin the Martian wrote:

:On Thu, 21 May 2009 03:42:56 +0000, Alan Erskine wrote:
:
: "Marvin the Martian" wrote in message
: news :
: What you really want to do is... (wait for it) ... build a
: manufacturing plant on Mars. Once on Mars, you can use Martian
: materials, so you don't have to bring as much mass up.
:
: Or the Moon - nearer to Earth; no atmosphere at all (compared to Mars)
: and half the gravity of Mars. Also the Moon's closer to the Sun, so
: solar energy can be used for smelting materials and industrial
: processes.
:
:Smelting is a process that usually involves Carbon, which the moon does
:not have.
:

And which you do not need, since you've got a plethora of free energy
and would like to keep the oxygen anyway.

:
:You will not be doing any smelting on the moon.
:

Horse manure.

:
:Yes. You get 2X the solar energy on the moon than you do on Mars.
:

You get 2X *at best*. It's usually much lower than that. Now further
deduct for that atmosphere you're so proud of, dust, etc.

--
"Some people get lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar
territory."
--G. Behn