You can easily take out all enemy satellites if you have a proper colony with defensible positions on the moon I think. You could literally kessler syndrome the bitch and have the only satellite in town. It’s definitely a valid strategic position.

I also think the fact that it takes so long to get to is a plus for some people. If war breaks out or musk starts abusing human right, they won’t hesitate to grab his moon colony. This won’t happen on mars, it’s just too far.

Not that your points aren’t completely valid but you are asking for possible reasons mars might be more attractive than to moon to some. Also, twice the gravity is nothing to scoff at.

That being said, I’m craving any kind of space exploration. It does seem nuts that we don’t have any kind of permanent installations on the moon yet. I’m still pissed the cunt spent 40 b on twitter instead of space.