"Bill Bonde ( the oblique allusion in lieu of the frontal attack )" wrote in message
...
Andy Rooney doesn't seem to care that the Moon is spartan compared to
Mars in things like actually having an atmosphere with water and CO2.
Why doesn't Andy care? Send him an e-mail.
And just why would we want another almost-Earth? The "spartan" nature
is exactly what makes the Moon so attractive. No corrosion. Plenty
of solar power to export. Plenty of materials for solar panels and
plenty of oxygen, if you can find technology for getting to it. Low
gravity and no atmosphere, so mass driver launches are possible one
day, requiring no retro-mass at all, just power.
On Mars you'd be in a cold desert with unbreathable air and dust
storms. The murky sky would be unsuitable for telescopes, as opposed
to the Moon. And getting anywhere else in the solar system by rocket
is comparable in difficulty to Earth launches. At any rate it's hard-
er than Moon-launches, and it's much, much farther away.
So what's the deal about Mars? It has all the disadvantages of the
Moon with none of the advantages, except for water ice. And if people
were so keen to move places and live there because of just *that,* how
come there are no giant domed cities in the Arctic and Antarctica?
--
__ "A good leader knows when it's best to ignore the __
('__` screams for help and focus on the bigger picture." '__`)
//6(6; İOOL mmiv :^)^\\
`\_-/
http://home.t-online.de/home/ulrich....lmann/redbaron \-_/'