IFPTE Letter to Norman Augustine at NASA watch.

Wonder why Sykes left out that we have already found the resources we need on Mars? It's a really fundamental issue that the Moon firsters blythely hand wave away. You don't need super high recycle efficiencies tested on the Moon when you can resupply locally. You don't need to know how to mine trace water from rock on the Moon for fuel to get to mars if you make your return fuel from abundant water and CO2 at Mars. 0.38 g is also likely to have a hell of a lot less impact on muscle and bone than 0.16 g or 0 g.

It will take us a long time if ever to learn to live independently and cheaply on the Moon. A Mars base or colony can bootstrap itself to self sufficiency or near self sufficiency orders of magnitude faster than the Moon. Rising oil prices may well cause a very limited window of opportunity to colonize space. People who are truly interested in this must balance the very modest risk reduction of the go slow approach with the very real risk that waiting will close a window of opportunity. According to the new book "$20 gas" we are looking at a future where we can't afford to live in suburbs let alone colonize space.

Regards,
Mark