Why Don't We Colonize The Moon Instead Of Mars?

For a long time, humans have dreamt of colonizing the red planet, our neighbour, Mars. 

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Although, living under the impression that it might take a while to even get there and at least start a life, humans have been made to believe such a step would one day happen.
Mars, as we all know, was named after the Roman god of war. It is the fourth planet away from the sun in our Solar system , and appears to be very much similar in size, diameter, and even seasons, to our planet, Earth. But overtime, many have always wondered why we don't get to colonize our closest neighbour instead, the Moon.

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 Honestly, I have asked myself this question to many times. Only to discover why the moon has always been disregarded when it involves colonization.

An Atmosphere

When it concerns surviving under the dangerous rays and heat of a nearby star, the first thing a sensible population would do is get an atmosphere. The atmosphere of a planet or celestial body helps to protect its inhabitants from the dangerous forces of space. 

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To to this, it retains the gases being ionized from its hot core, which gives it a reasonable and moderate gravitational pull. These gases tend to absorb the violent rays coming from the sun, thereby sustaining the most important thing in the universe, a life.

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Does The Moon Have An Atmosphere?

So far, the Moon has no atmosphere. Its low gravity makes it impossible to hold onto these gases, letting them escape into space. And this in no doubt, leaves it bare and vulnerable to whatever comes in from space. Trust me, no one would want to colonize the moon. Not just because it's too dark, but for the sake of being fried in a matter of seconds.
On the other hand, Mars as I said, appears to show similar trends of climates, size, and diameter to that of the Earth.

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 Apart from the fact that this planet is as rocky as Earth, it happens to have a stable atmosphere, which protects its surface from the impacts of heavy meteor shower. Although, it doesn't hold unto pressurized oxygen like our atmosphere, but it's basically better than nothing.

Presence Of Water

As we all know, the most essential element as regards the formation of life on a planet is the presence of water. There's a popular saying, "Where there's water, there's life." Trust me, this has always turned out true.
The Moon appears to be so baren it lacks the possession of water.  Not entirely though, but to a corresponding reduction in the time it lasts.  Water may have been delivered to the Moon over geological timescales by the regular bombardment of water-bearing comets, asteroids and meteoroids  or continuously produced in situ by the hydrogen ions (protons) of the solar wind impacting oxygen-bearing minerals.
Water that is present on the Moon. Liquid water cannot persist at the Moon's surface, and water vapor is decomposed by sunlight, with hydrogen quickly lost to outer space.
Stay tuned.