“I don’t believe that when creative new enterprises begin to do surface operations on the moon, that they’re going to looking for ways to employ people. They’re going to be looking for ways wherever possible of doing it through, ah, observing with television and controlling with radio. With the operators sitting here, on the surface of the Earth. That’s the inexpensive way of starting out any industrial operation – whether it’s in nearby space, or whether its on the surface of the moon.”

(Keep in mind O’Neill was unaware of the abundance of near-Earth asteroids from which we can more easily obtain water-ice than on the moon; all lunar activities will only be telerobotic…it is also much less expensive and safer to test Martian equipment in chilled vacuum chambers on the Earth.)