Is Mars a home for me...?

I read the article, "Purchase a Lovely New Home on... Mars?". Buzz Aldrin is the second man to have ever stepped foot on the moon, Aldrin is proclaiming that the United States Space program send a mission to Mars and if they do they should be prepared to stay. Aldrin proposes that when and if men and women board the first non-stop flight to Mars they should establish a long time colony on the planet. These people who leave for Mars should think of themselves as pioneers, they should not plan on coming home. You might ask why not the moon first..., it is a shorter trip but it offers no potential for life. The reason for sending humans to Mars, instead of robots is the fact that humans can act independently, a necessary and crucial trait for life in space. If the time comes for when we do send people to Mars, it will be one giant step for man.