[Omnitir]

There’s some impulsive posting (on my part) for you! I actually read an article in New Scientist a few months ago about methane on Mars and the search for life, but completely forgot about that information in my eagerness to debunk the idea of oil on Mars.

In the Mars express theory for eventual manned missions to Mars, I believe the theory for obtaining energy is the same as that of eventual moon missions: water extraction. Certainly solar power would play a big part, bit I think extracting water (for drinking, breathing, growing food, and making rocket fuel) is an essential part of surviving for extended periods in space.



Here’s some interesting news regarding the quest for space development. In the spirit of the recent X-prize, NASA is sponsoring competitions to encourage technological growth in the direction of an eventual space elevator (among other space technologies).
New space prizes target space elevators.

First step:
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')Winning teams will receive $50,000 in 2005 for either building the strongest strand of material or for using light to power a wireless robot up a cable.