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Lumifer comments on [LINK] Waitbutwhy article on the history and future of space exploration, SpaceX and more - Less Wrong Discussion
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I don't think there are any serious technical issues that would necessitate inventing something major -- all you need is a lot of engineering. The actual problem is in finding a big pile of money and that, to a large degree, is a function of "What will we get out of it?". The usual answer "But it sooooo cool!" isn't very convincing.
If I understand correctly, a round trip mission (land, plant a flag, pick up some rocks, take pictures and return) is currently technologically feasible. It's pretty much a matter of scaling up Saturn V / Apollo. The main technical issue is cancer risk from radiation, but I suppose that even if that was ignored there would be no difficulties finding astronauts who would be willing to fly.
A colony that doesn't depend on frequent supply launches, on the other hand, seems beyond current technology.