A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
“This somewhat tongue-in-cheek narrative will captivate even the skeptics, directing their gaze upward at night.”
A City on Mars navigates the realm of space exploration as part “how-to guide” and part “everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask about space travel.” If you’re at all curious about the unspoken aspects of biological functions and intimate matters in space, such as bowel movements or intercourse, the Weinersmiths have uncovered some seriously funky truths about “the road outbound” and those brave few who have tested it so far.
As the authors point out, we’ve been en route among the stars for decades, which is not very long at all. We’ve gone from a moon landing and space shuttles to an international space station and rocket-launching projects like Bezos’ and Musk’s in a very short span of time. Even if we could start building homes on Mars today, are we ready?
Along with a range of impressive experts on the topic, the authors have given this a lot of serious thought, producing more than 400 pages of commentary and research, including notes, a bibliography, and an index. Throughout, the Weinersmiths artfully encourage readers to entertain the thought of living on Mars while skillfully highlighting the absurdity of such a prospect through compelling data and delving into serious questions all through a lighthearted lens.
A book like this needs to be at least a little bit funny, given that evacuation may eventually be necessary for the survival of our species. But what exactly would we be escaping? Would we not be trading one uninhabitable planet for another? Would we not take our earthly baggage with us? A City on Mars takes a practical view beyond the apparent deal breakers, such as a hostile climate and the little problems like microgravity.
What about the more significant issues such as space law, sex, and capitalism? These issues present even more of a challenge than radiation and asteroids. It’s not enough to examine the atmospheric and technological difficulties; one must also consider the ethics involved. The Weinersmiths acknowledge that efforts and resources may better be directed toward solving problems on Earth, such as poverty and climate change, before investing in colonizing another planet. By the looks of things, it may be easier to fix things here. Somehow, the book seems to offer this as a comforting thought. As voices of reason, the book’s authors are among the enthusiasts who believe that perhaps one day, space settlements could be accomplished safely, but no time soon. They also draw attention to the implications of a new world taking on the negative traits of the old one prone to self-destruction.
A City on Mars could make space-settlement enthusiasts out of almost anyone, but not without first attending to serious precautions, internal and external. There’s still “good news for nerds,” though, say the authors. “What other endeavor requires you to understand everything from orbital mechanics to ecology to history, law, and war?”
This somewhat tongue-in-cheek narrative will captivate even the skeptics, directing their gaze upward at night. It’s a faraway day, say the Weinersmiths, and first, we need to earn the right to take Mars—that means both figuring out the science and . . . becoming a more responsible, more peaceful species. “Going to the stars will not make us wise. We have to become wise if we want to go to the stars.”