Elon Musk Publishes Plans for Colonizing Mars
The Sahara desert is infinitely more hospitable than Mars.  It&#x27;s easier to get to.  There&#x27;s air to breath.  There&#x27;s water.<p>The main reason to terraform Mars (other than making humanity a multi-planet species) is that no one cares about Mars.  If we want more water on Mars, we just throw a few hundred icebergs into it.  And ignore the sonic booms, devastation, craters, etc.  They can be fixed later.<p>But living on Mars is another prospect entirely.  It&#x27;s expensive to get there.  Once there, you&#x27;re damned closed to dying every minute of every day.  If you forgot something on Earth, it will be 2 years before you can retrieve it.<p>It&#x27;s sexy in science fiction, but the practicalities are pretty bad.