The Life Line Argument Is Bogus
Quick tell me which craft was launched to rescue Apollo 13?
Where did we loose 2 shuttles? On distant journeys or at the most risky points of any misison by far that exist no matter how far you go?
How many days can you last without Air?
The highest risk issues remain the same no matter which destination you choose.
The life line issue is as about as bogus the bogus solar energy and He3 fusion argiuments for the Moon. Sound nice, but bullshit when you apply even semiquantitative risk/reward analysis.
It is also ridiculous to claim that distance matters more than resources in colonization. Colonizing the Moon instead of Mars is like the Europeans colonizing the Sahara instead of America because it's "closer".
Regards,
Mark