Quite an ambitious project. It will need strong government to succeed. Do I mean political controls? No! I mean technological, on-project hierarchy.

This whole show will need to be run with military precision. But not the wasteful kind of military... the kind that orders soldiers to do all kinds of stupid things just so some officer can prove that he is in command. Rather, the kind that makes things work. If things don't work, people will die, and everybody on the team will need to pull together in a very orderly fashion to keep the team from dying.

When Columbus sailed the seven seas for the new lands, he did it knowing that earth awaited him at the end of the journey. He knew that earth was all around him, in and under the waters. These folks will have to take earth with them, because, though Mars is similar in many ways, it still is not earth.

This project will need BIG internal government to stand a chance of succeeding. Are you the kind of person who likes big government? If so, get on board.