A City on Mars

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

By: Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith

* THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Scientific American’s #1 Book for 2023

* A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * A Times Best Science and Environment Book of 2023 *

“Helpfully pulls back the curtain on some of the lesser-discussed challenges to humanity’s off-Earth pursuits . . . Any reader enthusiastic about space settlement will find much to appreciate in this book . . . [The Weinersmiths] write with a confident belief that humanity will one day travel off-planet.”–Science

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? 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:

Can you make babies in space? Should corporations govern space settlements? What about space war? Are we headed for a housing crisis on the Moon’s Peaks of Eternal Light—and what happens if you’re left in the Craters of Eternal Darkness? Why do astronauts love taco sauce? Speaking of meals, what’s the legal status of space cannibalism?

With deep expertise and a winning sense of humor, the Weinersmiths investigate perhaps the biggest questions humanity will ever ask itself—whether and how to become multiplanetary.

Get in, we’re going to Mars.

©2023 Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“This playful ‘homesteader’s guide’ to space settlement presents a bleak view of the pursuit . . . The authors examine the increasingly popular dream of a multi-planetary human race with a skepticism informed by ethical, logistical, and legal anxieties.”—The New Yorker

“A wonderful example of what it means to really think a difficult project through, a skill that many of us should acquire . . . The Weinersmiths are self-confessed space geeks who tread a fine line between the sort of constructive critique that would still qualify them as bona fide members of the space-settlement movement and a style of gentle ridicule that might get them rejected as traitors to the cause. A City on Mars is, foremost, a case study in the application of common sense.”—Shlomo Angel, Wall Street Journal

“An exceptional new piece of popular science . . . Forceful, engaging and funny… an essential reality check for anyone who has ever looked for home in the night sky . . . hilarious. The breezy prose is studded with charming cartoons . . . This book will make you happy to live on this planet—a good thing, because you’re not leaving anytime soon.”—New York Times Book Review

Fun and informative

Whether or not you agree with the conclusions I think there's some valuable insights and takeaways presented.

Excellent Listen

A great look at space colonization, the physical, ethical, legal, and political challenges thereof. Recommended.

A realistic examination of space settlement

This book is more or less a sequel to Mary Roach’s “Packing for Mars.” The authors examined various aspects of space settlement circa 2023.

This book tells it like it is - space is a horrible place to live. The authors examined the impact of space exploration on human physiology, psychology, geography of Luna and mars, logistics, politics in a not-boring way.

the last part of the book about space law was particularly interesting to me - I don’t think many books have looked at space from the legal angle.

Overall, this book is interesting and realistic. I’d recommend to space nerds looking for a realist assessment of space exploration in the 21st century.

Honest, enjoyable discussion of off world settlement

I really liked this book, and this audiobook. It covers a wide range of topics related to life in space, bringing a ‘big picture’ and evidence based approach to to topic that’s been missing, while being presented in an engaging and easy to listen to way. It piqued my interest to learn more before coming to my own conclusions about their Weinersmith’s conclusions; this is so complicated!

Fun and very very informative

Starts as a fun tour of how to make space cities, and rapidly and thoroughly goes into detail about space application of how we do the things that make cities work. Very comprehensive, and an entertaining listen. Sure it's a little snarky in tone. If you've seen their webcomics you will not be surprised. Apart from a couple of mispronunciations, Pressley's reading is fun, and the recording quality is good.

The first half is really good

The first half is really enjoyable. It talks about the various technical details and unknowns about building a space colony on Mars, the Moon, etc. Then it goes on for way too long about the legalities of space colonization, as if that really matters. No one can enforce laws on Mars. We can't even enforce International law on Earth. We have similar treaties saying the Arctic doesn't belong to anyone yet Russia drills for oil there.

Also taking another star off for refusing to use the word space "colony" for fear of offending woke people that find the term "problematic".

Very fun and very informative!

This is a great book to learn and expand our horizons about space settlements and space travel, as well as a deeper look at human nature. I definitely recommend giving this one a listen!

A City on Mars

The narrator was top notch & the content hilarious and insightful. I would highly recommend for anyone, but especially those interested in space and space settlement.

Great presentation

This is a very well-done and humorous presentation of the “devil in the details” of space colonization.

No Rush to Settle Space

A very comprehensive overview on the current state of knowledge regarding space settlement, told with humor and interesting anecdotes.

Important challenges for long-term settlement have not been studied thoroughly, the short-term economical case is often overstated, and a scramble to claim territory on the moon could cause far worse problems for humanity than whatever long term benefits we could expect.

Also, space sex.