Would the Inuit people ('Eskimos') make excellent candidates for a trip to Mars?

This is a serious question. Firstly, a quick note. 'Eskimo' is a contemptuous name meaning 'eater of raw flesh', and so I will be referring to the people with their correct indigenous title, Inuit. They are, as we shall see, far more advanced the Western notion of a primitive people huddled in a single-room Igloo (Igloos are often many-roomed structures of an intricate and efficient design).

So, why are Inuits suitable candidates? See below:

*** Inuits have a different system of orientation to other peoples so the world. Often, there is no clear distinction between the horizon, the sky, and the ground in a heavy white-washed snowscape. Inuits have developed an omni-directional sense because of this, and are extremely adept at orientation puzzles, such as the nine-dot problem. Inuit perspective is so advanced they can comfortably read in any direction, often upside down, and even adorn the Igloo walls with pictures hung askew, or upside down. Such amazing orientation skills are unique in the world and would undoubtedly help in zero-gravity on the long months to Mars and back.

*** Inuits often have an amazing mechanical aptitude and retentive memories. This is another product of conditioning to extremely harsh conditions at the edge of survival. Inuits from Greenland in particular must memories distant, subtle landmarks to navigate from Igloos to hunting or fishing ground, lest they perish in exposure. They also test for the salinity of the air, moisture changes, or other minuscule stimuli to navigate.

Their mechanical aptitude is a recent revelation, but Inuits can intricately repair damaged engines with the most basic of tools, that Canadian engineers (specially flown in) are sometimes unable to fix. The abilities come from various parts of the Inuit culture, where manual dexterity is learned at an early age in the fashioning if small objects, together with an heightened sense of spacial-awareness. Such engineering applications are of course important to any long space journey.

What do you think?