[Nimbletoes]

No need to dig in; there are bound to be long lava tubes in the flanks of the great basaltic shield volcanoes of the Tharsis Plateau. These could be made livable, and would provide adequate protection, at least, against the most likely dangers faced by early settlers--cosmic rays, differences in air pressure, and meteorites.

[davamanra]

Just watched "The Universe" on History Channel and they were talking about disasters in space and it occurred to me that given the hazards that can occur on Mars, a subterranean city might be the way to go. Not necessarily digging down, but instead dig horizontally into a mountain. This would protect the colony from meteor collision as well as solar flares. If we were to dig down as well there might also be a source of subterranean heat from the core of the planet.

[NoMoreLies]

I prefer the idea of using Ceres as a tidal flex partner.

But, before placing it in Mars orbit, pass it near Venus to speed up it's rotation.

Hmmm,,,, I wonder if Venus and Mars could be moved closer to Earth without disrupting it.

[lkm]

http://www.transhumanist.com/volume4/space.htm
I found this and thought of this discussion.

[lkm]

Assuming an ice depth of 60km each NTR rocket would only need a diameter of 60m to be able to melt and vapourize enough mass to get to Mars. Just worked it out out. You'd fire these giant rockets into the ground with a giant melty drilly nose that digs into the ice, churns it up and feeds it into the reactor, as the rocket fires it sinks further into the ground, drilling out more fuel and sending it back.