<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I agree. There are a lot of benefits that come from setting up shop underground. Even moreso if one has access to an underground aquifer.Really, the big hurdle ATM is the actual excavation. A couple TBS's could tunnel out a pretty expansive underground habitat in short order, but how the hack do you get a 500 ton TBM off Earth, to Mars, put it together and power the thing, not to mention house and support a few dozens of people? <br /> </p><p>Posted by <em>dragon04</em></DIV></p><p>Well, no successful Mars Colonizer mission could ever work, unless a great deal of material and supplies were sent in advance to await the actual Colonists. A LOT of material and supplies. Such a machine would have to be sent in sections, landed in sections over time, and reassembled later. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis: </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>