Of course the science has to be done and is useful, but there is still a huge leap between doing it on earth and doing it in an entirely different body and harsher enviroment, and we haven't done it on earth despite many attempts.
Its not like its just some small details that need some fine tuning or funding to achieve and just around the corner. The scale of building just an empty multi-acre structure off earth to start would by itself dwarf all our previous space projects combined.
ethbr1
Yes and no. Part of the benefit of closed ecologies is that they're... closed.
So unravel the major dynamics on Earth, and as on another body with gravity and sunlight (to a first approximation).
Its not like its just some small details that need some fine tuning or funding to achieve and just around the corner. The scale of building just an empty multi-acre structure off earth to start would by itself dwarf all our previous space projects combined.