this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2025
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Mars (Planet)
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All of the tech we’d need to even get to mars would be sufficient to sustain human life in space, where we’d be more comfortable and don’t have to terraform.
Personally I think we should skip mars and get to the asteroid belt.
beltalowda
You don't even have to spin them up. Just drill a big hole through the asteroid - maybe with concentrated sunlight - and build a small O'Neill cylinder inside.
It's not entirely the case.
Yes, we could sustain human life in space for a while, as we do during the trip to Mars, but the problem is that supplies (especially food and oxygen, and probably water) will eventually run out and have to be replenished.
In outer space, there's a vacuum and so, materials can't be sourced from there. They have to be sourced from a planet or another object that provides a large supply of materials. Mars offers atmospheric CO~2~ and water (in the form of hydrated rocks), which can be used to produce biomass (food) and oxygen (through electrolysis). So it's preferable to just floating in outer space.
Which is why I think we should skip Mars and head straight for the asteroid belt. Plenty of resources, no toxic dust.