>>12815262>Why would anybody go to Mars unless they were paid loads of money and could travel back to Earth later to spend it?Personally, I'm getting older and have done most of my living already (currently mid-30s). Got a PhD, got a career, have a bit of a name for myself, bought a house, etc. I wouldn't go now, but in maybe 15-20 years, I would probably be very eager to volunteer for a one-way trip. I love gardens, and gardening is my favorite thing in the world and what I look forward to each year (just got my garden bed ready with carrots + lettuce planted, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers growing indoors, average last frost in about a month).
Everything about traveling to mars would fullfil a childhood fantasy of becoming an astronaut, and its one experience I would trade quite a bit of life for. I imagine being on mars and attempting to cultivate some habitability out of it would be a soul-fulling amount of work. I'm sure I would get lonely, and after years I would probably miss earth a lot, but even knowing that I'd still volunteer to go.
