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Originally Posted by Betonov
Good point.
But still, 6 billion to see a Mars landing is still peanuts compared to all the money we see bamboozled into pockets of individuals.
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Furthermore, once the first 100 are down and settled in, they will be extracting minerals which may be in short supply on Earth, the initial cost of getting them back from Mars will offset much of the profit from selling it on the open market, but as more people buy into the venture and more ships start making the Earth/Mars run then the costs will start to come down.
Of course, there's the ethical argument of how much we will change Mars with our footprint and if and when the terraforming starts to take place.
I recommend Kim Stanley Robinsons 'Red Mars', it's a bit long-winded in places but it touches on a lot of the problems that are going to face the Martian colonists.