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ObligatoryOption t1_ja8rdug wrote

Reply to comment by anotheroutlaw in The Case for Callisto by MoreGull

> 500 generations

10,000 years? I think you err far to the pessimistic side.

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anotheroutlaw t1_ja93skk wrote

I studied history. Periods of human enlightenment are short lived and interspersed between long periods of difficulty. To actually colonize a hostile object beyond Earth would require a level of cooperation and scientific focus never-before seen in human history.

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ObligatoryOption t1_ja9565z wrote

Humanity today bears little resemblance to what it was 10,000 years ago.

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anotheroutlaw t1_ja95zeb wrote

And the humanity that colonizes another celestial body will bear little resemblance to us.

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ObligatoryOption t1_ja96mv6 wrote

If you don't think the current generation will see humans on Mars, you're in the minority.

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anotheroutlaw t1_ja97z62 wrote

And in 1969 everyone thought we’d be on Mars by the end of the century. That being said I am hopeful we make it to Mars in my lifetime. But I also know that overseas wars and the military will always siphon the incredibly large majority of our tax dollars. Geopolitics can derail achievement in space at any moment.

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MoreGull OP t1_ja9hw31 wrote

If you are looking foward to first steps, I agree. It will be awesome when a man steps on the surface of Mars.

But other than being cool it's pointless.

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MoreGull OP t1_ja95afn wrote

Or a highly incentivized profit....

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anotheroutlaw t1_ja969ii wrote

Whatever profit is to be made will not be enjoyed by those who start this kind of work. They will be long dead. The initial cost of this work would be in the trillions.

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MoreGull OP t1_ja986r1 wrote

The key would be there are profits to be made every step of the way....

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doctorclark t1_ja996qo wrote

The true profit was the 499 generations of human civilization we met along the way.

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