The engine that drives humanity is power, represented as money and fear. Throughout history, humankind has colonized other territories either to make more money or to become more powerful—and thus instill greater fear in their adversaries.

The historical difference between the Americas and Mars is that science can state, with absolute precision, that there is nothing on Mars to exploit (at least in the forcoming decades) that would make the United States, China, or Russia any richer. Nor is there, at first glance, anything on Mars that could grant these superpowers new ways to wield fear as a tool of influence.

In the 1960s we went to the Moon because there was a space race between the two superpowers, fueled by an undeclared war. Whoever won that race would gain greater public approval to justify atrocities committed in the name of that conflict.

We haven’t returned to the Moon since the 1960s simply because there is nothing there that would make them more money. And if we haven’t gone back to the Moon in 60 years, what would motivate us to visit another barren rock with even less to offer?

Scientific curiosity alone is not enough. It takes vast amounts of money or the promise of power—the same promise the Americas represented to Europe in the 16th century.