Will humans colonize Mars? A better question might be ‘when we go, what will be the shape of Earth colonist Martians?’ Conditions on Mars Colony will be less than optimal for humans, to put it mildly. Temperatures and atmospheric pressures will be lethally low, exposure to unfiltered sunlight high, and despite hi-tech survival doo-dads, there will be considerable physical labor in every day duties. Furthermore, long periods out of reach of Mother Earth, and a lifestyle "under pressure" within the colony structure demands personalities resistant to cabin fever. Okay, you guessed it: Eskimos.
Short, dark, and muscular, these Amerinds live half a year or more indoors and are not prone to cabin fever. Short and round holds heat better than tall and skinny, and with the natural advantages of dark UV- resistant skin and insulating subcutaneous fatty layers, they would require much less protection from the extreme conditions than most of humanity. And isn't touching space helmet visors for private greetings a lot like Eskimo kisses?
Much of the basic problem of Mars is the deadly low temperatures. Useful gasses and liquids are trapped as ice, and life-giving weather is suppressed. Terraformation plans to pollute the atmosphere to retain more heat, or smack icy asteroids into Mar’s surface might work, but wouldn't it be better if Mars simply absorbed more of the energy old Sol gives? If polar surface temperatures were raised just a few degrees, CO2 and other goodies would begin to form a natural greenhouse effect, and a few degrees at the equator would stir the mix and further warm the poles. Have you guessed? Tattoos, of course, very good.
Coating key areas of the Martian surface with dark, solar absorptive material could be the answer to cheap, effective terraformation of Mars. Fine carbon ash could be spread a number of ways: remotely by bomb, or burning flares, or even special Rovers. These tattoos might be the only thing about early Martian colonization that actually makes money – how much would Pepsi pay to have its logo tattooed on the Face of Mars?
All this colonization and commercialization leads naturally to another question: will there be law? Star Trek has it’s prime directives, for instance, and many Terrestrial interests would like to influence the laws of Colony Mars. If colonization must be backed by governments or corporations, "prime directives" will reflect the needs of mission success, not ethics or morals. If private colonization is possible, personal survival and success will likely outweigh any mandated prime directive. Unless, of course, someone wants to foot the bill for the Space Rangers, those square-jawed keepers of law and order.
Seriously, though, there will be such a need out there – at least as much as we need it down here. Greedy corporations, corrupt government officials, and civilian criminals dictate the need for a mythical lawman – invulnerable, incorruptible, yet sensible and understanding. Impossible? No. Remotely piloted vehicles are here now; a virtually tele-operated police officer will be soon. Thanks to an electro-mechanical body, threats and violence would be useless, or maybe a ticketable offense. Bribes and other influence would be wasted, since the officer's every word and action would be recorded. The really best part is that the officers would not have to qualify in height, strength, and other physical ways necessary to do a cop's job safely today, but could be tested instead for honesty, empathy, ethics, and other mental/emotional qualifications. "One riot, one ranger" might soon become "one planet, one Ranger" and my Eskimo Martian tattooers might have R2-D2 for a sheriff.
I went too far there, didn't I?
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