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That only kicks the can down the road a bit: what are the "solar system development" needs that would financially justify a Mars colony?



It probably starts from near-earth work to maintain Earth-orbiting infrastructure - refueling satellites without lugging fuel up Earth's gravity well. Then probably manufacturing in-orbit for similar cost savings on launch. And once there's that little bit of industrial base, the most likely driver of larger-scale industrialization is mining of elements that are rare on Earth and industrially useful (osmium, rhenium, iridium, etc.).




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