Saturday, July 16, 2022

Botany Bay

Jeff Greason complains about a Mars colony that it won't be self-sufficient. A commenter @Deadly_Laser adds that Mars' 3.7 gravity although not Earth's is still annoying. Consensus seems that the asteroid belt would host better colony-prospects. Metzger (whom we've blogged) promises an essay countering this.

Before we read that essay Mars has one resource asteroids don't: exile.

More precisely Babylon Five raised the issue of some prospector going to a space-station and, for whatever reason, failing. They didn't do anything wrong, or at least not wrong enough that they need to be booted out the airlock; they can't afford the passage elsewhere; nobody wants them onboard. Larger stations, therefore, are getting a skid-row each.

Maybe not Deimos however. There's a whole planet right below that high moon. It is not a very nice planet but it does have room to build, if not to breathe exactly.

I'll also point out that with Deimo'Station still being up there, ideally trailing a tether, the exit-cost from Mars-to-elsewhere isn't as bad as you'd think. Especially if Phobos gets tethers too.

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