Mars

1. Why we should go to Mars

We are born in an era where we can actually go to Mars within our lifetime, before we die. Everything humanity knows, loves, experiences, and understands empirically, is limited within the Earth-Moon system bubble. Human perception is our gate to collective understanding and knowledge of the “universe”, and we are limiting ourselves by staying in this bubble. It would be a sad tale if human civilization never broke through the “space ceiling” and reached a new planet, a new frontier of understanding — Mars.

2. How we can go to Mars

I'd bet by the time I am experienced and knowledgable enough to build the next SpaceX, companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, etc would have solved the transportation problem. The next problem to solve is habitation - how do we keep humans alive on Mars? 

An approach that has the least R&D activation energy would be to build enclosed habitable spaces for humans to thrive, emulating the ISS (a more complex solution would be to genetically engineer humans to live on Mars). 

So how do we build the first city on Mars? Currently, I'm interested in exploring how we can leverage autonomous robots and cranes to build the foundation of a Martian city using in-situ resources, then have astronauts add the final touches to the habitats. This way, we mitigate life-threatening accidents, and maximize development efficiency. 

Note - this will be updated as I learn more