>>10890006That's not what DeltaV map say. Near Earth asteroid would be easier to reach and leave than going to Mars, on the long term it would be cheaper to redirect and colonize asteroids -plural- than keep Mars colonies supplied with all the stuff they didn't know they needed.
>>10890102That's bullshit of the same level as "alien want to steal the water of Earth".
There's enough resources in one average asteroid to supply the entirety of mankind for years and you aren't bothered by gravity unless you will it. Any free mass is going to be radiation shielding, you get to chose the position and orientation of your shield and move everything of value in a single piece. There's no wear and tear to speak of, this isn't TV where micro-asteroid storm happen as often as rain.
Done right you can expand your infrastructure indefinitely with low cost magnetic/tether launch, protecting and optimizing our civilization just moving factories or colonies. That's also what make airless moon more interesting.
Aerobraking is for primitive who don't have infrastructure, once you have proper space colonies you are halfway to anywhere.
Your "martian resources" are only going to be what you can dig out of the tiny crust of a cold highly irradiated hell with only water at the poles. Your resources are going to be thousand kilometers apart with none of the luxury Earth pioneer enjoyed. You'll be fighting the gravity well, dust storm and cold at all time, living underground as Mars only have shielding during the night and wasting energy just fighting the planet.
Set a surface colonies on Mars and you are just digging another overpopulated shithole who resent the free belters who enjoy custom paradise.
So stop clinging to oldspace memes and embrace the future of mankind as a true spacefaring civilization.
