Moon for science, Mars for colonies...
Hi Guys
Simple really. We need a pristine environment for NEO detectors and radio telescopes - so the airless Moon makes sense.
We need an atmosphere and a water table for REAL colonisation, so Mars makes sense in that context.
Which one first? I vote Mars. We can watch NEOs from here.
However exploiting NEOs might make colonising Mars easier in some respects...
http://www.neofuel.com/
...the problem with the Moon is that any major action there will spoil the hard vacuum and much of its usefulness.
Adam