green mars

[Straha]

Suppose Mars has Oceans and supports very low level life. Plankton
and Litchen.

Conseqences

[DominusNovus]

With an oxygen atmosphere (assuming it has one), we will, of course, make more of an effort to get there.

[zoomar]

We'd probably already be there and carving it up between the major spacefaring nations: The Co-Dominion of New Hibernia, the South Asian Khanate, and the Chosen People of Israel. The first extra-terran war is fought in 6320 between the Khanate and Chosen People to secure control of the vast plankton beds in the Shallow Sea of Doom, without which the first human colonies would starve.

[euio]

We'd probably already be there and carving it up between the major spacefaring nations: The Co-Dominion of New Hibernia, the South Asian Khanate, and the Chosen People of Israel. The first extra-terran war is fought in 6320 between the Khanate and Chosen People to secure control of the vast plankton beds in the Shallow Sea of Doom, without which the first human colonies would starve.

What about the US?

[M79]

If polar algae or other life might be used to thicken the atmosphere, then the Space Race might involve shipping those materials to Mars and eventually accelerating a transplanetary migration. The resulting technology and proximity to the asteroid belt would allow the materials there to be exploited for human use. It would also allow us to explore Venus (if we choose) and colonize the moon/Earth orbit. I say we'd have colonies on Mar right now in the nascent stages if this were in place.