When I hear a CEO going on about “becoming an interplanetary species,” I consider that it’s 2021 and the entire continent of Antarctica still has a permanent population of zero, despite having a breathable atmosphere and drinkable water and being a 3-hour flight from major cities

The most interesting thing here is that the Venn between “COVID is a hoax /vaccines are poison /end all lockdowns” people and “colonize Mars” people is much more circular than you’d think.

They even have conferences on Mars colonies as places free from, er, lockdowns

(Ursula K. LeGuin wrote quite compellingly about what it feels like when libertarians decide it's a good idea to squeeze themselves together into sealed extraterrestrial airtight domes)