Why Mars, and not another planet?

After the Earth, Mars is the most habitable planet in our solar system due to several reasons:

• Its soil contains water to extract
• It isn’t too cold or too hot
• There is enough sunlight to use solar panels
• Gravity on Mars is 38% that of our Earth's, which is believed by many to be sufficient for the human body to adapt to
• It has an atmosphere (albeit a thin one) that offers protection from cosmic and the Sun's radiation
• The day/night rhythm is very similar to ours here on Earth: a Mars day is 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds

The only other two celestial bodies in orbits near the Earth are our Moon and Venus. There are far fewer vital resources on the Moon, and a Moon day takes a month. It also does not have an atmosphere to form a barrier against radiation. Venus is a veritable purgatory. The average temperature is over 400 degrees, the barometric pressure is that of 900 meters underwater on Earth, and the cherry on top comes in the form of occasional bouts of acid rain. It also has nights that last for 120 days. Humans cannot live on Mars without the help of technology, but compared to Venus it's paradise!

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