re: What is the deal with colonizing Mars?

It is very interesting. And, when you examine some of the NASA photos of the surface, there are some weird and difficult to explain structures there.

My own theory, based on a lot of research, is that Mars had sophisticated life at one time, and some climate catastrophe (or, if I want to go out of the normal line of thinking, a nuclear event) destroyed it. It has since been covered with dust. I'd like to see a rover dig down about twenty feet.