Originally Posted by crockett

I realize the obvious usually fails to materialize in your mind, but really use your brain. They aren't just sending people to Mars in a box to wait and see how long it takes them to die. They are sending people there to try an colonize the planet.

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to point out that that means more people & supplies will be sent after the first group(s). Also it wont always be a "one way" trip if they can successfully colonize Mars.. For the first groups yes it likely will be, but 20 years or so later, they will have sorted out a way to send supplies/people back & forth..

The Gravity on Mars is only 38% that of what it is on Earth meaning yes sperm will still swim, much faster actually and it will take much less fuel and thrust power to exit Mar's atmosphere.

The biggest hurdle to colonizing Mars is not having people live there, but how to make it profitable. If they can't make it profitable, then it will just be some missions and test bases and then we lose interest just like the moon. We lost interest because it was just a see if we can do it thing. Now days however we have the private sector forging ahead in the space industry and they are doing it for "profits" and once they figure out a way to make profit from Mars (which will mean return trips to Earth) they will have people successfully living there.