>> I wonder what sort of progress would smooth over the extraordinary credit injection we've seen in 2020.

> A successful Mars colony, obviously :) Gaining a second planet might possibly justify this level of credit.

I'm not so sure. From the perspective of Earth economics, a Mars colony may be no different from a massive, useless boondoggle. The colony would obviously consume massive amounts of Earth resources, but what products and services would it provide Earth in return and is the production of those things on Mars economically justifiable?