[Openurmind]

Couldn’t they just do this same “problem solving” in a building and “imagine” it’s a cave?

[rktman]

They may want to rethink this idea. Manbearpig has warned us that it’s millions of degrees hot not that far under our feet.

[Glennb51]

The tablets are a great idea, until they hook up the solar charger.

[Trumpet 1]

With the Moon and with Mars there are no atmospheres to burn up the meteors. If a space rock enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it will burn up and turn into dust. On the Moon or Mars it will crash through the roof of your house and do lots of damage. Therefore, you must live in a cave to be spared from the space rocks. Oh yeah, for those who say Mars has got an atmosphere...The Earth atmosphere is 35 times thicker than that of Mars and the Mars atmosphere is too thin to burn up a space rock. Space exploration or how I learned to live in a cave.

[Viking2002]

All these experiments and false starts and artificial timetables and whig-bang engine test firings that never leave the ground. Coupled with fifty years of abandoning the moon and firing off toaster-sized probes to there and Mars, half of which do nothing but make a crater in the ground when they malfunction on descent (assuming, of course, they actually make it there at all). The science gained is no better than if you brought back a cubic meter of dirt and let a high school science team poke at it for a semester. NASA's idea of getting back into space is to take an almost sixty year old model of the Apollo command module, give it roomier heated seats, Sirius/XM stereo, iPad Internet access, and armrest stoage, then off we go into the void. Our space program is a big boondoggle with no fresh ideas or minds. No innovation. No taking chances or dreaming big. Meanwhile, thanks to the Halfrican-In-Chief who killed our shuttle program, the only access we've had to so much as reaching low orbit are those antiquated, reliable old Tin Lizzies the Russians seem to launch with admirable success.

I'll look beyond the hype when someone - anyone - launches a mission to the moon or Mars and we get a weak signal back, *crackle* ".............we're alive. We made it."

[Wuli]

Most planet surfaces can protect space travelers habitats dug below them better than any constructed habitat above ground.

All it takes is some small tunneling equipment, spray on insulating foam, a space-ship-grade entrance and a few sky lights. Shielding from radiaition is greatly enhanced, temperature control is much easier and energy savings are great. Yes, they will still don space suits when they go out to explore.