Afterword: no such thing as colonial mastery on Mars

Abstract

In this afterword, I return to a friendly disagreement between myself and my co-editor, Arun Saldanha, during the writing of the introductory essay of this special issue to make the case that a critical, materialist approach to human presence on Mars demands starting from the material facts of Martian planetary conditions. I argue that the differences between Mars and Earth render terrestrial histories of colonialism, labor, and dissent inadequate as analogies for what may unfold on a Martian settlement mission, and therefore require revised analytics for a robust critical engagement with Mars and human-Mars relations.