From: frank.scrooby@gmail.com   
      
   Greetings all,   
   On Tuesday, March 9, 2021 at 12:14:43 AM UTC+2, Alain Fournier wrote:   
   <>   
   >    
   > For a stronger definition of a colony, such as a group living on Mars    
   > and capable of growing and surviving indefinitely without receiving    
   > supplies from Earth, yes I would say that will take more than 20 years.    
   >    
      
   Even with the great strides made by SpaceX I'm still somewhat cynical of the   
   20-ish year deadline for Humans on Mars. Let's just put it down to me having   
   been disappointed by lack of progress in the past (NASA and Washington, I'm   
   talking about you, and    
   Apollo and Skylab, and the X-33 and the whole damn Shuttle program).   
      
   I'm forgetting who did it but one of the historical colony leaders got where   
   they were going, unloaded and then torched the ships (i'm not thinking of   
   William I, it might be Cortez, or one of his contemporaries. Not necessarily   
   smart, but it gives people    
   a definite message: You are not going home the same way you came.    
      
   The equivalent on Mars would sending your Mars Habitat to Mars and instead of   
   sending your Mars Ascent vehicle (or Mars Return Vehicle) sending another Mars   
   Hab packed with supplies. No MAV/MRV no way home for another 18 months (it is   
   18 months). Better    
   get that hydroponic greenhouse deployed, and find the best water containing   
   regolith to mine.   
      
   >    
   > Alain Fournier   
      
   Regards   
   Frank   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)