Mars should be colonized, not the moon.

A temporary colony on the moon may be neccessary for practice, but in the long run; a colony on mars is a better idea. There is more water on mars, it has better gravity, ect. I will get more in-depth into these without further ado. GravityMars' gravitational pull is twice as strong as the moon's gravity. Low gravity in space is known to cause muscle shrinking and other bad impacts on the human body. Low gravity may be great for jumping or even flying, it isn't healthy over long periods of time without very frequent exercise. The moon's gravity is far weaker than the gravity of Mars which means it would be easier to adapt to the gravity of Mars. Astronauts would also need to exercise less.RadiationThe sun can emit harmful radiation and "solar storms." Luckily, these are all filtered through the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. However, this may be a problem for both the Moon and Mars but less on Mars. Mars recieves much less solar radiation being farther from the sun and it has a weak and thin atmosphere and magnetic field to filter some of it.Day lengthThe day and night cycle on Mars is similair to Earth. On the moon, a day can last a month. On Mars, a day is a little over 24 hours similair to that on Earth. It would be easier on Mars to adjust to the day and night cycle because astronauts would be more used to it. They are not used to the day and night cycle on the moon.ResourcesMars is rich in stuff such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and ect. Mars is abundant in many required elements needing to establish a colony. It is richer in metals like iron, copper and other things such as phospherous. While many of these may exist on the moon, they are harder to get and rarer on the Moon. Mars is more mineral rich. It also contains more silicon to create solar panels.HabitabilityHabitability on Moon would likely only be limited to small domes. However, we may be able to terraform the entire planet of Mars for extended habitability. I will present some ways how we can terraform Mars that would not be possible on the moon. If we can terraform Mars, it can serve as another home to Earth. Water Water is very important for establishing a colony anywhere. Liquid water does not naturally exist on the moon or on Mars but c It would obviously be needed for stuff like drinking, farming, and ect. The moon's water content however is likely very low. Mars has far more surface water at it's polar ice caps than the moon does in some of it's craters. Mars also has vast amounts of water underground. If we are to terraform either planet, the moon would not be practical. On Mars, large oceans can exist like that on Earth. The moon can not host large oceans due to it's lack of water.Size and gravityHigher gravity on Mars would not only help astronauts adapt, but it would help Mars hold on to a thicker atmosphere better. If the Moon were to hold on to an atmosphere, it would likely be blown away by solar winds. Mars is further from the sun and has higher gravity so it could hold a thicker atmosphere. We could thicken the atmosphere on Mars by possibly building factories, melting the frozen CO2 on mars and etc. ConclusionMars is more mineral rich than the Moon. Mars is more mineral rich and contains more useful resources. Mars is more alike Earth than the moon is. Mars is easier to terraform aswell. All these reasons are why a long term colony would be suitable on Mars over the Moon. While we may or may not need to start a temporary colony on the moon first, Mars is better in the long run. 1. http://science.nasa.gov...2. http://www.space.com...;3. http://www.eurekalert.org...4. http://www.exploratorium.edu...5. http://science.nasa.gov...6. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov...7. http://www.pbs.org...8. http://www.nss.org...9. http://www.redcolony.com...10. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov...