A City on Mars

Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?

Hardcover, 448 pages

Published Nov. 7, 2023

ISBN:
978-1-9848-8172-4
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5 stars (6 reviews)

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 …

4 editions

Clear-eyed, humane, and deeply considered overview of space settlement science and fantasy, from Kelly and @ZachWeinersmith@mastodon.social

5 stars

This is a careful, immensely well-informed, and persuasively comprehensive examination of the domain of settlements in space.

Kind of spoiler alert (but not really): They are not optimistic, certainly not in the short- or even medium-term. What the book does is share the reasons for their stance. And while there is a certain accuracy to the term 'disillusionment' here, in that they started the project optimistic and wanted to provide a popular introduction to how it will all be achieved, the end result is not a 'downer'.

What the authors get across - I think implicitly, but they also take time at various points to be very explicit about it - is that they love the science. They enjoy not the power fantasies of "Wild West in Spaaaaaaace!!" but the complexity, intricacies and crazy dynamics of life, and just as importantly living; being human in space, and on other …

Excellent Overview of the Difficulties of Space Settlement

5 stars

This was fun to read, but still very educational. There is a lot of hype around space settlement and the Weinersmiths thoroughly show all the little details that are very important, but do get glossed over in the discussion because people are overeager in dreaming of a space frontier.

My takeaway from the book: Let's conserve Earth first, take our time to develop a lot more understanding about space settlement and the advanced technology we might need, and then when we have sorted out everything here on this planet, then we might start thinking about colonizing this void out there that is trying to kill us. Makes sense to me.

reviewed A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith

Ligero pero profundo, entretenido pero riguroso

4 stars

Recuerdo de pequeño tener libros de ciencia para niños profusamente ilustrados con visiones tremendamente optimistas de un futuro que nunca fue, lleno de hábitats espaciales y colonias en diferentes lugares del sistema solar. Esos libros aunque a mí me llegaron en los 80 seguramente estuviesen concebidos en los 70, una década en la que todavía llegaban misiones a la Luna y en la que vistos los avances exponenciales que se consiguieron en tan pocos años el cielo ya no era el límite. A nuestra generación se le prometió un programa espacial apasionante y al final, además del trauma colectivo al ver explotar el Challenger en el 86, nos tuvimos que conformar con ser testigos de logros como el amartizaje de Curiosity o el fly-by a Plutón que, aunque excepcionales, palidecen cuando los comparas con lo que me habían prometido aquellos viejos libros. En estos últimos tiempos de turbocapitalismo las grandes …

Subjects

  • Nonfiction
  • Science
  • Space
  • Technology
  • Politics
  • Sociology

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