What will be the best job to have in the Mars colony?
Adam Cole, White Plains, NY

Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society and author of How to Live on Mars, tells us how to
make green on the Red Planet.

Where’s the big money on Mars?

Be a mining claim evaluator. It’s like the California gold rush. You have an unexplored planet that potentially has fantastic min--eral resources, so prospectors can go out, make claims, and sell them without any risk. Spectacular fortunes will be made.

What if we want a little risk?

Identify places with geothermal power. That’s where settlements will go, because you can’t rely on solar power given the dust storms. geothermal power will ALSO give you water.

Can we buy up beachfront property before it even exists?

That’s even more speculative. Who can really say the water will rise to this level as opposed to that? But if we can make the desert bloom, the million acres I bought for $1,000 are going to be worth a billion.

Will our friends in the banking industry be able to ruin the Martian financial system, too?

There will be plenty of bubbles—that’s human nature. Mars isn’t going to be a utopia; it’s going to be a frontier.

Can I really make a dinosaur using old DNA?
Dan Fallon, San Diego, CA

It was fun seeing Newman from Seinfeld get eaten alive, but the science behind Jurassic Park is pure fiction. So says Jack Horner, author of How to Build a Dinosaur. But, he adds, “Birds carry a lot of dinosaur genes, so it’s possible to retro-engineer a bird and get some of those characteristics back.” Sadly, the results won’t be T. rex scary. “It’ll be a harmless chicken-osaurus with a long tail, a three-fingered hand, and a few teeth.” Tasty!

What’s the best college for majoring in video games? 
Lonnie Branch, Bryan, TX

The place to be is the Game Design Initiative at Cornell, where programmers, artists, even musicians work together in one program. “The industry cares less about the degree you have,” says GDIAC director Walker White. “They want to see what you’ve finished and distributed online.” Recently, socially awkward GDIAC alumni have worked on blockbuster franchises like The Sims and Spore. Nerdy!

Is it true that only two people know the Coke formula? 
Ben Foster, Richmond, VA

According to Coca-Cola spokeswoman Kerry Kerr, “Only a small, select number of people” know the formula. That’s as specific as she would get. Head honcho Ernest Woodruff reportedly instituted the rule in 1925—mostly for show—that only two executives can know the formula. (Not counting all the people on the factory floors.) So while the number is definitely higher than two, all this mystery may be for naught, as many experts believe the formula published in 1993’s For God, Country & Coca-Cola is legit: two parts high-fructose corn syrup, one part eye of newt. Refreshing!