"The Larkin Decision might not apply.  Luna was uninhabited, but Mars is inhabited - by Martians.  At the moment, Martians are a legal zero.  But the High Court might take a look at the political situation, stare at its collective navel, and decide that human occupancy meant nothing on a planet already inhabited by non-human natives.  Then rights on Mars, if any, would have to be secured from the Martians themselves."