Ray Bradbury--Dark They Were And Golden Eyed

At the beginning of a world-spanning war, a group of colonists are dispatched to the planet Mars from a spaceport in New York City. The Bittering family, composed of father Harry, mother Cora, and their children Tim Laura, and David, arrives as part of the few colonists chosen for the first wave. Harry is initially disquieted by the Martian environment, but he takes comfort in the fact that the family can return to Earth when resupply ships arrive.[1]

Strange events begin to affect the life brought as part of the settlement effort, including the seeded grass sprouting purple, the family cow growing a third horn in the middle of its head, and other anomalies with the vegetable garden. Harry’s discomfort on Mars increases and the thought of returning to Earth on the next resupply mission soon becomes his only comfort, much to the concern of Cora. This solace is taken away as Bittering is informed that the war has led to an atomic bomb devastating New York City and destroying the only spaceport capable of supporting travel to Mars. Frantically, he begins work on building a rocket to return himself and his family to Earth. As he works on the craft, the colonists themselves soon begin to manifest Martian traits. Harry staves this off by only eating food brought from Earth, but eventually runs out. With no choice but to consume Martian-grown food, he soon notices that his own eyes have started to turn gold, and the townsfolk’s skin turns to a dark reddish brown.[1]