viraptor parent
I'm not sure 500⁰C and 100x earth pressure is in any range of viable...
No, the surface sucks. The clouds are where its at.
The clouds are even less viable, every resource would have to be imported from space.
Mars is infinitely more viable than anywhere in Venus for the simple fact that you are on solid ground with resources all around you.
I haven't seen any evidence we could actually harness the resources on mars without tech that doesn't exist. E.g. fusion power.
Without orbital infrastructure shipping supplies in neither are viable.
You don't need fusion power to melt ice, to move regolith over habitats for shielding, or to melt rocks to extract and process metals. I have absolutely no idea where you get the notion that it meeds fusion power? Solar power or things like kilopower reactors are a great option for Mars, especially for bootstrapping.
Elevation.