Bobby. wrote on Nov 6
th, 2010 at 10:31pm:
Muso.
Quote:Yeah - I had that in the back of my mind. If I was younger, I would volunteer in an instant.
Come on mate - you're a dreamer.
Who the hell would want a one way trip to Mars?
The living conditions would be deplorable & dangerous.
You'd be like
Dr Smith in Lost in Space -
trying to get back to Earth.
I should split this thread. It has nothing to do with Laser fusion.
I'm pretty sure that it would be possible to provide controlled environment, enclosed settlements (Think of really futuristic shopping malls. Just imagine it.).
The basic ingredients are there already. (They are also on the moon... and especially on Phobos. Land some Solar panels on Phobos, and use the electrical power for electrolysis to produce oxygen and hydrogen. Hey presto, you have a refueling station in a very low gravitational well. )
The first step would be landing some basic robotic infrastructure to start building, to start producing oxygen from the water that exists in the regolith and produce some living quarters to start with.
Actual terraforming would be centuries away.