City on Mars

436, pagine

lingua English

Pubblicato il 24 Dicembre 2023 da Penguin Books, Limited.

ISBN:: 978-0-241-45493-0

(2 recensioni)

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? Critically acclaimed, bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of research, they aren’t so sure it’s a good idea. Space technologies and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the 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 nightmares, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. In the process, the Weinersmiths answer every question about space you’ve ever wondered about, and many you’ve …

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? Critically acclaimed, bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of research, they aren’t so sure it’s a good idea. Space technologies and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the 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 nightmares, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. In the process, the Weinersmiths answer every question about space you’ve ever wondered about, and many you’ve never considered.

2 edizioni

📚torstein📚 ha recensito A City on Mars di Kelly Weinersmith

Eye opening

4 stelle

I knew lunar regolith is on par or worse than asbestos, and I knew Mars don't have a magnetosphere, making radiation as bad as in space. What I didn't know is that Martian soil is actually toxic to both animal and plant life, that the bags of astronaut feces on the Moon are considered US property, that one of the reasons the US refuses to sign the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is because it can have an impact on extra-terrestrial mining.

Neither was I aware the the lower end population limit to start a successful Martian colony is in the six digits. And even then the colonist straight up needs to embrace eugenics in order to make the colony survive beyond the first few generations.

All in all a very interesting and thought provoking read that makes a compelling argument that space settlements should be …

I knew lunar regolith is on par or worse than asbestos, and I knew Mars don't have a magnetosphere, making radiation as bad as in space. What I didn't know is that Martian soil is actually toxic to both animal and plant life, that the bags of astronaut feces on the Moon are considered US property, that one of the reasons the US refuses to sign the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is because it can have an impact on extra-terrestrial mining.

Neither was I aware the the lower end population limit to start a successful Martian colony is in the six digits. And even then the colonist straight up needs to embrace eugenics in order to make the colony survive beyond the first few generations.

All in all a very interesting and thought provoking read that makes a compelling argument that space settlements should be put on hold for now.

norb ha recensito A City on Mars di Kelly Weinersmith

Space: Not the Destiation You Think It Is

4 stelle

A City on Mars (EBook, 2023, Penguin Press) 5 stars

I really enjoyed the breadth (and depth) of the analysis the Weinersmith's make in this book. The science-y bits were great, but the law related pieces were the most interesting in my opinion.

I think their point about how space exploration geeks just completely skip over law was really insightful. The fact that we already have international law that most likely applies to the moon, and the different reasons why powerful countries agree to international law or not, was interesting.

After reading this book, I came away significantly less enthusiastic about a settlement on Mars (or the Moon) however I still, like the authors, think it is a good use of time and money if done the right way.