Mars One - Human settlement of Mars in 2023

[Buster's Uncle]

Mars, Venus, Jupiter: Millionaire Behind Red Planet Mission Wants to Colonize Entire Solar System

[Elok]

I'd be more interested in seeing things like expansive deep-sea habitats.

[Rusty Edge]

Delaying the time-table sounds like signs of realism to me. Talking about Venus colonies hanging from balloons, not so much.

[Geo]

I'd be more interested in seeing things like expansive deep-sea habitats.

To wet the appetite?

[Rusty Edge]

I'd be more interested in seeing things like expansive deep-sea habitats.

To wet the appetite?

LOL

[bvanevery]

I'd be more interested in seeing things like expansive deep-sea habitats.

I want to terraform non-arable parts of Africa, and ship food to people on sea drones, somehow avoiding warlords collecting them up.

[Unorthodox]

Delaying the time-table sounds like signs of realism to me. Talking about Venus colonies hanging from balloons, not so much.

Inflatable Venusian cities aren't quite as far fetched as they sound.  In fact, in a lot of ways, they might actually be more feasible than a martian colony. 

[bvanevery]

I'm just not seeing how humanity survives in a culture predicated on total engineering reliability.  Nobody on Earth currently cares or is that conscientious about it.  Need I point out Deepwater Horizon?  We need a basic solution to the problem of human economic greed, otherwise it's going to dominate our behavior in any offworld experiments.  Colonies will be founded, and everyone in them will die.

[Lorizael]

Research stations in Antarctica are permanently staffed, with the continent having a couple thousand people there at all times. You can't live there without technology, but the people there get by okay for the most part.

[bvanevery]

They can breathe the air.  And strictly speaking you can live in Antarctica without much technology.  Explorers have criss-crossed the continent over a century or so.  You certainly need logistical supply, but the very air you breathe doesn't kill you.  In short, they do not need "total engineering reliability" at all.

[Lorizael]

The ISS has been continuously occupied for over 17 years. Nuclear submarines can stay underwater for years (or possibly even decades) at a time, with the only limiting factor being the food/supplies they choose to take down with them.

[Unorthodox]

They can breathe the air.  And strictly speaking you can live in Antarctica without much technology.  Explorers have criss-crossed the continent over a century or so.  You certainly need logistical supply, but the very air you breathe doesn't kill you.  In short, they do not need "total engineering reliability" at all.

There are chemical processes that could make breathable air a renewable resource on Venus.  And that air is also what makes you float.  This is one of the bigger reasons it makes more sense than Mars.  Similar gravity to earth and an atmosphere that blocks most the radiation are also huge points in favor of Venus. 

[Rusty Edge]

They can breathe the air.  And strictly speaking you can live in Antarctica without much technology.  Explorers have criss-crossed the continent over a century or so.  You certainly need logistical supply, but the very air you breathe doesn't kill you.  In short, they do not need "total engineering reliability" at all.

There are chemical processes that could make breathable air a renewable resource on Venus.  And that air is also what makes you float.  This is one of the bigger reasons it makes more sense than Mars.  Similar gravity to earth and an atmosphere that blocks most the radiation are also huge points in favor of Venus.

Yes, I see. Water in the atmosphere as well.  I assume it's easier or takes less energy  to send a payload towards the sun than away from it with proper planning.

[Lorizael]

I assume it's easier or takes less energy  to send a payload towards the sun than away from it with proper planning.

Not so. If it takes energy to climb up out of the sun's gravitational well, it also takes energy to stop yourself from slipping too far down the well.

[Geo]

They can breathe the air.  And strictly speaking you can live in Antarctica without much technology.  Explorers have criss-crossed the continent over a century or so.  You certainly need logistical supply, but the very air you breathe doesn't kill you.  In short, they do not need "total engineering reliability" at all.

All the air those floating settlements would ever need can be found in the Venusian atmosphere. Certainly at the altitudes those settlements have to float anyway because of the temperature. considerations.

I assume it's easier or takes less energy  to send a payload towards the sun than away from it with proper planning.

Not so. If it takes energy to climb up out of the sun's gravitational well, it also takes energy to stop yourself from slipping too far down the well.

Isn't the Venusian atmosphere more evenly layered, making aerobreaking in it safer then for instance Mars' atmosphere?