A City on Mars

A City on Mars, Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9781984881748) 2023.

Summary: A study of the complexities of human settlements in space, and whether this is as good an idea as some think.

With the recent Artemis mission, human space missions once again captured the public imagination. It put us on notice that there are well-funded entities with ambitions to settle on the Moon, and eventually Mars or elsewhere. Some have spoken of this as an alternative if climate conditions become unbearable on earth or as an “ark” to preserve human and other life if the unthinkable were to happen on earth.

Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, a scientist and a cartoonist respectively, are self-admitted space geeks. But as they have taken a hard look at the complexities of space settlement, they argue very good case for at least going slow if we do this at all. At best, they argue for this being a project of centuries–a wait-and-go-big approach. To begin, they puncture a variety of myths about how space settlement could save humanity, make us all rich, end war, and will unify us and make us wise.

Then they take a deep dive into the complexities of creating sustainable space settlements. Firstly, consider survival. Space has all kinds of ways to kill humans, both fast and slow. Fundamentally, there is the question of air, and the reality that the lack of it, even for seconds can kill. There are also a variety of longer term killers from bone and muscle loss to radiation exposure from which our atmosphere protects us. And while sex in space is possible, we do not know the effects of low or no gravity environments on human development. Likewise, what would long-term residence in a low gravity environment would mean for returning to Earth?

Secondly, comes the question of where. The Weinersmiths consider the possibilities. The Moon is close but comes with challenges. Only a few mountaintops at the poles are always in sunlight. The soil is abrasive, just to mention the most obvious problems. Mars is little better, with toxic, perchlorate soils and challenging atmospheric conditions. Then there are giant space stations, wheels in the sky. However, the size to create gravity approximating earth presents construction challenges. All the other options are far worse.

Thirdly, creating self-contained settlements has its own challenges. Biosphere Two barely pulled this off on earth. But the most likely settlements on the Moon or Mars would be underground, in lava tubes. These protect from unlivable temperatures, toxins, and radiation. But the challenge is that they have to be self-sustaining for long periods, from oxygen generation to food and energy production. We don’t know how to do this yet.

Fourthly, is the state of and challenges of space law. The Weinersmiths discuss the existing Outer Space Treaty, that has both worked but leaves many questions unanswered. When you are talking brief, exploratory missions and a few samples, there are few problems. However, can a “commons” approach work when there are multiple entities with settlements?

Finally, the Weinersmiths consider what is involved in “going big.” They envision that settlements would be the equivalent of the company town. And how many people are needed for a self-sustaining civilization? The estimates vary widely from under ten thousand to a million or more people. Of course, that begs the question of how we will get them there. And, because human nature doesn’t change, the Weinersmiths explore everything from crime to space war.

The Weinersmiths break up all this serious science and technology talk with comics, down to earth descriptions, like the Moon as a “fixer-upper” and humorous sidenotes like the tale of the tampon bandolier for early female astronauts and why astronauts love taco sauce. Don’t skip over the Nota Bene at the end of each section.

The upshot of all this is that we better not rely on space settlement as a Plan B for the human race. At one point, they note that the best space alternatives are still objectively worst than even extreme climate change conditions. And none are near-term. We are far wiser to focus on the only place we know we can live. However, they do not close the door to space settlement. Rather, to do it well and ethically, there is a lot of groundwork to lay that will take far more than 20-25 years as some would propose. The Weinersmiths suggest centuries, although our ADHD society probably can’t tolerate that. And they weigh the words of naysayers and those who worry what Pandora’s box space settlement could open.

What is valuable is that the Weinersmiths inject a healthy dose of realism into discussions given to hyperbole. Their style is such that readers have fun while considering serious matters. And since a space settlement effort will effect all of us, it’s well worth learning about what is involved and the challenges we may face. This book is a good place to start.