The Martians are mobilizing.

Municipal and business leaders in Mars are homing in on the serious part of a proposed renovation — the part that requires spending money.

That’s not a bad thing. All around the rustic little borough with the out-of-this-world name, communities are developing, spending large sums of money and attracting world-class residential and business occupants.

It’s justifiable that Mars wants a piece of the action, especially when the alternative — doing nothing — will lead the town of 1,700 residents into obscurity, irrelevance and decay.

So there’s no time like the present, borough officials and the business community agree, to pursue a revitalization project for the only walkable main street along the ever-growing Route 228 corridor.

Mayor Gregg Hartung says he’s been working for about a year with the borough council and Mars Business Association on revitalization blueprints. Hartung says the tentative plan can be implemented in three or four stages, with a tentative completion in three to five years.

The next step is to seek grants and other funding.

The Martians stand with their mayor — and so do we. The residential and commercial growth in and around neighboring Adams Township, Seven Fields and Cranberry warrants a timely overhaul of downtown Mars.

From a sympathetic neighbor’s point of view, the community has two philosophical questions to ponder as it pursues and markets these important renovations.

First, What is the ultimate objective of a renovation? It’s noble and positive to agree that attracting and retaining residential and commercial occupants is necessary. It’s equally positive to try and maintain or improve the community’s standard of living.

But the ultimate objective, the central idea behind a community renovation is pride of ownership — an outward statement that this is our home: we’re proud of it; we want it to reflect who we are and what we value; and we’d like you to enjoy it as much as we do.

If Mayor Hartung and his committees can successfully convey this notion to the rest of the community, then the renovation is more likely to succeed.

Second, and perhaps a little trickier, is deciding on a central theme.

Mars has a wonderful history, rich in the industrial growth of Western Pennsylvania. Grist mills, oil wells, railroad tracks and streetcars formerly graced its landscape since settlers first cleared farm fields along Breakneck Creek. Its original name was Overbrook, which caused confusion in 1877 when the new railroad stop took the same name as the local post office. A local judge, Samuel Marshall, petitioned the U.S. Postal Service for the new name.

Legend has it the name “Mars” came from the first syllable of the Judge’s name. The unintended result is the borough’s forever connection with the Angry Red Planet — and a small marketing dilemma: Should Mars present itself as a hub of frontier heritage, or as a quirky astronomical wonder?

It can be both, sure. And it should be. But any attempt to equally present the old and the futuristic will result in a crowded and confusing tourist brochure.

When it comes to making first impressions, it’s better to pick one theme to promote. We’re leaning toward the flying saucer replica across from the bank, not only because of its central location but mostly because it’s a unique theme in a world of small towns clamoring for a distinctive identity.

Apparently the borough leans the same way, judging from the UFO on its welcome signs.

Indeed, there is life in Mars.