Re: Maybe the smart first step is to colonize the moon
Why build on the surface? Getting things down into the (pretty deep) gravity well of the moon is quite a challenge in itself. Better to build stuff in orbit. Which is also not as simple as you'd think. The ISS is an achievement in its own right just for the fact humanity has figured out a way to put something that large in space one bit at a time.
For illustration Delta-V to LEO is 9400 m/s. Delta-V to the moons surface from LEO is an additional 5670 m/s, Delta-V to the martian surface is 6300 m/s from LEO, compared to getting into orbit in the first place, the difference between going to the moon and going to mars is not that big, but if you are building something big, there is a BIG difference in building it in orbit and building it on the surface in terms of energy required to deliver building materials.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
