[ryandrake]

I wish this kind of economic and biologic sanity was more common in discussions of colonizing outer space. We've watched too much Star Trek.

Building a city in Antarctica will be economically viable long before building a city on Mars is.

[card_zero]

The Madrid Protocol says you can't do anything fun with Antarctica. Can't have a mine, a garbage heap, or a farm. I suppose the world's militaries stand ready to capture any enterprising colonists and destroy their structures.

[SecretDreams]

Most of modern civilization has been built over the last century. 1000 years is a very long time brotha. We only got into space 60-70 years ago.

And, rarely, have economic considerations been the only driver for those great societal leaps.