Much as I described the Venus of Space Kid! in Episode One, the Mars that appears in this series is a “30s-and-40s throwback pulp Mars”, somewhat similar to what appeared in stories like those of C.L. Moore or Leigh Brackett. I do this primarily because those “old” planets are way more fun than the real ones! 
[Birthday shout-out to Jesse Ventura!]
I expect a nod to Lucky Starr and to Edgar Rice Burroughs somewhere in this book!
Aw man Steve, it’s been so long since I read any Lucky Starr that I can barely recall any of it!
As for ERB, you might spot one or two things later on…
Doc-esque guy up ahead with a floozy. (Or perhaps Stella.)
Couple of vest guys with hands in their pockets reaching for weapons of some ilk.
Briefcase-guy evoking the smug, supposedly-educated, lookin’-to-wreak-havoc subversive persona.
Something’s brewing. I can sense it.
JFK, you are almost as bad as Wes, seeing floozies everywhere…