<story><title>Barack Obama: America Will Take the Giant Leap to Mars</title><url>http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/11/opinions/america-will-take-giant-leap-to-mars-barack-obama/index.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>tdaltonc</author><text>I don&amp;#x27;t think it took 100&amp;#x27;s of years for people to figure out that a continent teaming cod, timber, and beavers might be a good place to set up trade. Grated, early on, they thought it was a continent full of gold and spices.&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#x27;t know what the analogous economic engine could possible be on Mars. If Mars is going to grow, we need to be able to imagine someone saying &amp;quot;I&amp;#x27;m moving my family to Mars in search of a better life. I just don&amp;#x27;t see that happening. Series or L2 station? Sure, someone has to refine the iridium before we send it down the gravity well. But why would an entrepreneur want to set up shop on Mars?</text></item><item><author>anindha</author><text>Trying to go to Mars is equivalent to the explorers in the 1500-1700s discovering other continents. History has shown it was a good idea.&lt;p&gt;We won&amp;#x27;t know the benefit of going to Mars until 100s of years after we do it.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>personjerry</author><text>&amp;gt; I don&amp;#x27;t think it took 100&amp;#x27;s of years for people to figure out that a continent teaming cod, timber, and beavers might be a good place to set up trade. Grated, early on, they thought it was a continent full of gold and spices.&lt;p&gt;But it did! There were very basic, underfunded French colonies in North America for example for at least a hundred years before they really sent a lot more people and realized the wealth that could be had. At the same time the colonizing countries also had great internal issues, but had they known how much profit could&amp;#x27;ve been made from investment, undoubtedly they would&amp;#x27;ve been colonizing in full force much earlier.</text></comment>
<story><title>Barack Obama: America Will Take the Giant Leap to Mars</title><url>http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/11/opinions/america-will-take-giant-leap-to-mars-barack-obama/index.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>tdaltonc</author><text>I don&amp;#x27;t think it took 100&amp;#x27;s of years for people to figure out that a continent teaming cod, timber, and beavers might be a good place to set up trade. Grated, early on, they thought it was a continent full of gold and spices.&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#x27;t know what the analogous economic engine could possible be on Mars. If Mars is going to grow, we need to be able to imagine someone saying &amp;quot;I&amp;#x27;m moving my family to Mars in search of a better life. I just don&amp;#x27;t see that happening. Series or L2 station? Sure, someone has to refine the iridium before we send it down the gravity well. But why would an entrepreneur want to set up shop on Mars?</text></item><item><author>anindha</author><text>Trying to go to Mars is equivalent to the explorers in the 1500-1700s discovering other continents. History has shown it was a good idea.&lt;p&gt;We won&amp;#x27;t know the benefit of going to Mars until 100s of years after we do it.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ipince</author><text>&amp;gt; why would an entrepreneur want to set up shop on Mars?&lt;p&gt;? New environment, new markets, new needs = lots of new and potentially huge opportunities. I&amp;#x27;m asking myself the complete opposite question.</text></comment>