It would certainly be difficult, but if we do manage to create viable permanent settlements on Mars that would massively expand the space where humans can live,

It would certainly be difficult, but if we do manage to create viable permanent settlements on Mars that would massively expand the space where humans can live, since it would require significant upgrades in a whole suite of technologies necessary for human colonization of extraterrestrial environmens. Even a technology as seemingly unrelated to Mars settlement as autonomous robots I believe would see significant advances as part of any effort to create a permanent human presence on Mars.