A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
Kelly Weinersmith
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A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
Kelly Weinersmith
From the bestselling authors of Soonish , a brilliant and hilarious off-world investigation into space settlement Earth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away - no climate change, no war, no Twitter - beckons, and settling the stars finally seems within our grasp. Or is it? Bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of original research, and interviews with leading space scientists, engineers and legal experts, they aren't so sure it's a good idea. Space tech and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the deep knowledge needed to have space-kids, build space-farms and create space nations in a way that doesn't spark conflict back home. In a world hurtling toward human expansion into space, A City on Mars investigates whether the dream of new worlds won't create a nightmare, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. With deep expertise, a winning sense of humour and art from the beloved creator of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal , the Weinersmiths investigate perhaps the biggest questions humanity will ever ask itself - whether and how to become multiplanetary.
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4.5 stars
I'll fully admit that I only picked this up because it was on the nominee list for related work for the 2024 Hugo awards. I am frankly quite ignorant when it comes to science topics, part of the reason that I tend to avoid hard sci-fi like the plague. But this seemed like a super approachable discussion on space travel so I was willing to give it a shot.
There is definitely (as you might guess from the title) a strong argument being espoused here for pumping the brakes on space settlement but honestly I appreciated the pragmatism and the hard questions about whether we're really ready for that. It seems easy to get excited without really thinking about potential ramifications or issues. There's not a lot of deep diving in the various topics so it was easy for me to understand as someone who isn't a science geek and lots of humor and the occasional illustrations to alleviate some of the darker material.
Folks who have stronger opinions on space travel might get annoyed at the more cynical tone or lack of deep dives but honestly there were a lot of references provided for later reading if you're interested and I was impressed at the handling of it. For a space newbie like myself, it was very accessible and fun and I ended up picking up a copy for myself so I could reference it later.
0Logically I know I probably won't be alive to see any sort of long term human settlement on the Moon or Mars. Did this book confirm that to the nth degree? Yes. Am I still a little bummed about that? Yes...but also maybe that's a good thing...
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