Comment Re:The moon is a dead end (Score 1) 190
One thing that I haven't heard mentioned yet is that a base on the moon gives the opportunity for a rescue mission.
If something really critical goes wrong help is only a couple of days away (assuming NASA could afford to launch a shuttle). A couple of days stuck in an escape module is not a big problem as long as there's water and air available. For that amount of time it wouldn't be out of the question to provide those supplies.
By starting on Mars you basically give up the ability for a rescue. Help will be six to nine months away. There's no chance for assistance in an emergency.
While both missions would entail a large amount of risk you don't want to be wasting peoples lives because someone made a stupid mistake. (And you know that there are stupid mistakes made... like not converting between metric and imperial units!)
If something really critical goes wrong help is only a couple of days away (assuming NASA could afford to launch a shuttle). A couple of days stuck in an escape module is not a big problem as long as there's water and air available. For that amount of time it wouldn't be out of the question to provide those supplies.
By starting on Mars you basically give up the ability for a rescue. Help will be six to nine months away. There's no chance for assistance in an emergency.
While both missions would entail a large amount of risk you don't want to be wasting peoples lives because someone made a stupid mistake. (And you know that there are stupid mistakes made... like not converting between metric and imperial units!)
