Ok, we’ve had various discussions related to this, but this thread is intended to deal with one thing, the priorities for Mars missions. This would include what kind of missions should be sent, and in what order.
I will enumerate what I think are the most likely priorities so that they can be responded to by number. I’d appreciate it if responses can be kept to comments on the subject, without any personal comments such as “you don’t know what you are talking about” or “that’s your problem” or “you clearly haven’t done the research” etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. If we keep this civil, perhaps we can actually have a productive discussion.
These are posted in no particular order of priority. If there are any other suggestions to add to the list of priorities, I will try to add them. (although “edit” doesn’t always work).
1. Alien Life: Look for signs of alien life, either past or present.
2. National Pride: Get there first and show we are still number one in space. T\IMO, this was the primary reason for the early “space race”.
3. National Security: Get there first and set up military bases to prevent other countries from gaining a military advantage. This may have been one of the underlying reasons for the early “space race”.
4. National Territory: Get there first and claim all of Mars (or the prime real estate) for the USA.
5. Economic: Be the first to begin processing and using resources that may be on Mars for commercial purposes.
6. Security for Mankind: Set up a self-sufficient colony on Mars to continue the human race in case of a globally fatal catastrophe of any kind. That could be any catastrophe including, but not limited to, asteroid/meteor strike, massive volcanism, nuclear war, unstoppable epidemic, etc.
7. Just plain human curiosity. Sometimes we just have to know what is on the other side of the hill, or at the top of the mountain. Men have spent a lot of money for no other reason but this.
After the priority of missions can be established,
then perhaps we can also discuss which missions would best support those priorities.
Meanwhile, can we focus on the priorities of the missions? First things first.