This article really got me convinced.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2093579/

After reading this article, ask yourself this: Is Mars ours for the taking?

Most of us would think so. Me included.

PS: No Flame wars, please.

  I guess that as long as there is no one on the planet to dispute us calling it ours, then it can be ours if we want it, someday in the very distant future we (Earth) will probably consider ourselves owners of the whole solar system, unless we run into someone that wants to defend their planet.

That article kinda gives me the creeps.

". . . mankind has a duty to terraform Mars . . ."

". . . we have a moral obligation . . ."

This kind of talk seems a bit overzealous, especially in light of the US being committed to peace and mutual respect on our planet.  If Americans are the only ones to colonize that planet, and in effect, claim it for ourselves, I believe there will be massive consequences.

And terraforming Mars isn't really necessary.  Why do it, when we have this pristine wilderness (although it is a desert) that we can study and learn from?

I am extremely concerned by this article.  Seems there is a race to Mars on very soon.

Reminds me of the race to the Moon in the 60s.  We were all wound up about beating the Russians there, and after all is said and done, the moon "belongs to everyone".  Seems to me that it should be that way with Mars as well.

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Very true.  In fact, it is possible to buy a plot on the moon right now.  Very strange, if you ask me.  IE - how do you know you'll be alive to see it?  Seems like a waste of money to me . . .

Owning the planet would be stupid, as we don't own this planet we just live on it and share it with others.  Nothing owns the moon we just landed there and put a flag on it.

Anyway the USSR (as it was known) landed on Mars and had a lander successfully land and last for all of 20 seconds on the surface.  This happened back in 1971.  
Th US did not manage to successully land on Mars until 1975.  Europe has yet to, beagle 2 being their first attempt.

If the universe is infinite then there is no limits, only the idea that we may conflict with another life-form or ourselves and in-advertently all die is what stops us... oh and the lack of technology.

We can't get this planet in order without space industry.

Setting up a space industry is expensive, but negligible against the returns. Mankind is currently in a cage which is getting smaller. We have two choices, get out of the cage or suffocate.

Leaving the question of possession aside for a moment I have a problem with whole idea that space exploration is necessary for our survival as SilverFox is suggesting. The real motives behind it are still very dubious to me as most projects on this scale have some military connection. The only people likely to benefit (if that is the correct word) from settlements on other planets would be government officials, "important" people, scientists or the very wealthy.

It would be impossible to carry out any form of resettlement on a large scale for the forseeable future. I have no idea of the intended or practical capacity of these so-called terra-forming projects. Even if this were possible, which is by no means certain, they could never support anything more than a tiny percentage of the population of Earth. The transportation logistitics alone are mind-boggling. So the question in my mind is, who decides on the ones to be "saved"? It's not likely to happen in my lifetime but I would rather stop here & take my chances.

I've felt strongly for a long time that the vast amounts of money, time & effort spent on space exploration would be better directed elsewhere. This planet is far from finished if we conserve our resources & stop polluting our environment. Unfortunately, due to human nature, this is not likely to happen. You would be faced with the same old problems wherever we settled.