This procedurally generated depiction of a future Mars colony is inspired by the cover of 'The Tyranny of Distance' by Geoffrey Blainey.

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Blainey describes the first European fleet set sail for Australia in the summer of 1787:

"The course they had followed from England amounted to some 14,000 miles and had taken eight months and a week, of which actual sailing time was six months."

Jammed into cramped quarters for six months? That's right on the money for the average time it takes NASA to send a robot to Mars – about six to eight months.

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We can't be that far off the space-faring equivalent of the Barque sailing ships that journeyed to Australia in 1787. If the British could sail an equivalent distance in the 18th century and start a new settlement, shouldn't it be possible for us to create a Martian settlement today?