The point is exploring the unknown and learning new things. It's not a matter of going on vacation; based on the National Geographic tv series, building a colony on Mars would be no picnic. The challenges would be great, but so would be the rewards. There is still a lot about the Red Planet we don't know, and sending probes and robots there can only tell us so much. We could learn so much more if there were actual people there to walk on its surface, explore, and do scientific research. Who knows what kind of discoveries we'd make in a scenario like that?
And no, Mars's atmosphere is not breathable, and it's really, really cold out on the surface, even in it's warmest regions. The first outposts would probably be inside pressurized domes or modules that had their own oxygen supply and heat. They would have to be built near ice deposits that could be harvested and filtered into drinkable liquid water. A smart thing I saw the colonists do on Mars on the National Geographic show was build their first real outpost inside a deep cave full of ice, allowing the surrounding rock to provide some protection against solar radiation.
The colonies or outposts would also have to grow their own food, using hydroponics farming and seeds they brought from earth. Essentially, the first human settlements would have to treat Mars like a slightly less harsh version of outer space, but with gravity and a surface to walk on.
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