 | |
| Author | |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Popular science |
| Publisher | Penguin Press |
Publication date | November 7, 2023 |
| Pages | 436 |
| ISBN | 9781984881724 |
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? is a 2023 popular science book by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. It covers the current state of knowledge of space settlement given changes in the economics of space travel in the 2010s and 2020s, with a particular focus on challenges that the authors consider unresolved or underestimated. The book is illustrated with Zach Weinersmith's artwork; he is known as the creator of the webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.
The book discusses challenges facing long-term human existence in space and encourages further research into solving these issues before long-term space settlement is attempted, as the technical barriers to increased space travel appear to be weakening due to advances from commercial space flight providers. Some of the challenges covered in the book include sex in space; pregnancy and childrearing off-Earth; space psychology; the effects of microgravity and deep space radiation on humans; agriculture and biosphere creation outside of Earth; space law; nation-building off-Earth; and the difficulties of supplying colonies. It also weighs the potential benefits from Lunar colonization, Martian colonization, and the construction of space stations against the ease of living on Earth, as even a hypothetically devastated Earth would be more habitable than other options in the Solar System.
Reviews of the book were positive, praising its humor and fresh viewpoint. It made 11th place on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardback nonfiction books. In 2024, the book won the Hugo Award for Best Related Work.