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We all knew we’d die on Mars when we arrived. Some of us were hoping for ten years of good research or just the satisfaction of supporting the construction effort, but hell, we were all old to start with, though physically fit for our age. That was one of the criteria for being selected for the “staging missions,” as Mission Control called them. Setting up all the equipment and prepping the habitats for future colonists; that was our primary function. There wasn’t a single one of us younger than sixty. It meant we were well educated, for the most part,