<story><title>Journey to Mars: Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration [pdf]</title><url>http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/journey-to-mars-next-steps-20151008_508.pdf</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>stevesearer</author><text>The word &amp;#x27;colonize&amp;#x27; evokes thoughts of British, Dutch, Portuguese, etc colonization ~500-200 years ago.&lt;p&gt;When thinking of colonizing a new planet, is there any information about who will control the resources of the colony? Will the USA control Martian resources if we get there first or will it be a collaborative effort like the Space Station?</text></item><item><author>mediocrejoker</author><text>That&amp;#x27;s what makes it truly exciting to me: it seems like a lot of smart people have been putting serious thought and consideration towards what would&amp;#x2F;will be required to have a realistic shot at colonizing another planet.</text></item><item><author>hackuser</author><text>If you have any interest, I highly recommend reading this. It&amp;#x27;s not marketing fluff; it has a creative and (seemingly) complete vision and well-thought-through planning, and is clear, concise, and detailed. Maybe someone who follows these issues closely will already know much of it (or maybe not; I have no idea), but it is an education for me and by far the best thing I&amp;#x27;ve read on the subject.&lt;p&gt;For example, the three phases in the title are defined not by physical locations or technological developments, but by dependence on Earth:&lt;p&gt;* Earth Reliant&lt;p&gt;* Proving Ground: R&amp;amp;D in &amp;#x27;cislunar&amp;#x27; space&lt;p&gt;* Earth Independent&lt;p&gt;Maybe that&amp;#x27;s old news to space geeks, but it&amp;#x27;s new to me and shows an effort to carefully conceive of the mission.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>jerf</author><text>Zigging from clem&amp;#x27;s zag, let me put this another way. There absolutely, positively, beyond a shadow of a doubt will be major political issues that arise from off-planet habitation.&lt;p&gt;But, to be honest, not particularly all that more major than any number of issues that arise on Earth all the time, and we generally muddle through them. It&amp;#x27;ll be a &lt;i&gt;long&lt;/i&gt; time before anyone would have any reason to start a shooting war over an off-planet resource.&lt;p&gt;And science fiction has been predicting the near inevitability that eventually the off-planet colony will demand independence anyhow, a position I see no reason to modify or disagree with, personally. The structural forces in favor of that outcome are just overwhelming.</text></comment>
<story><title>Journey to Mars: Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration [pdf]</title><url>http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/journey-to-mars-next-steps-20151008_508.pdf</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>stevesearer</author><text>The word &amp;#x27;colonize&amp;#x27; evokes thoughts of British, Dutch, Portuguese, etc colonization ~500-200 years ago.&lt;p&gt;When thinking of colonizing a new planet, is there any information about who will control the resources of the colony? Will the USA control Martian resources if we get there first or will it be a collaborative effort like the Space Station?</text></item><item><author>mediocrejoker</author><text>That&amp;#x27;s what makes it truly exciting to me: it seems like a lot of smart people have been putting serious thought and consideration towards what would&amp;#x2F;will be required to have a realistic shot at colonizing another planet.</text></item><item><author>hackuser</author><text>If you have any interest, I highly recommend reading this. It&amp;#x27;s not marketing fluff; it has a creative and (seemingly) complete vision and well-thought-through planning, and is clear, concise, and detailed. Maybe someone who follows these issues closely will already know much of it (or maybe not; I have no idea), but it is an education for me and by far the best thing I&amp;#x27;ve read on the subject.&lt;p&gt;For example, the three phases in the title are defined not by physical locations or technological developments, but by dependence on Earth:&lt;p&gt;* Earth Reliant&lt;p&gt;* Proving Ground: R&amp;amp;D in &amp;#x27;cislunar&amp;#x27; space&lt;p&gt;* Earth Independent&lt;p&gt;Maybe that&amp;#x27;s old news to space geeks, but it&amp;#x27;s new to me and shows an effort to carefully conceive of the mission.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>clem</author><text>At the moment that&amp;#x27;s something of a moot point.  Is there a single resource on Mars that&amp;#x27;s worth the cost of transporting back to Earth?  Until that&amp;#x27;s the case, it&amp;#x27;s only going to be the local Martian populace controlling the resources.</text></comment>