 Why did Val and Ron really decide to go to Mars?
The planet itself was tough enough—barren, desolate, forbidding; enough to stop the most adventurous and dedicated. But no; she blamed it all on me somehow: So we were out walking on the spongy sand of the Martian desert. She had been just as much inflamed by the idea of coming to Mars to help in the search for uranium as I was. No, we had decided together to come to Mars—the way we decided together on everything. Maybe we shouldn't have come to Mars after all. And that started the chain of events that led Val and me to end up as a madman's prisoners, on Mars. So, Mars.
 They were curious and wanted to help their planet
 They were curious and wanted to help their planet  They did not want to spend anymore time on earth  They wanted a more creative way to make money  Out of obligation to find a job to sustain themselves