Science fiction blinded us to the perils of settling Mars

[H K]

Science fiction blinded us to the perils of settling Mars

https://bigthink.com/books/science-fiction-mars/

[L. Wayne Buinis]

Ross Pomeroy's points are expanded in great detail by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith in their book "A City on Mars" with subtitle "Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?", Penguin Press, NY, 2023.

The authors go well beyond the technical challenges and environmental hazards to include space law and much else. Their research is impeccable. They conclude that Mars and the Moon are impractical and terrible places to colonize, at least with current technology. The Weinersmiths do not denigrate the aspiration to do so, however.

Lonny

On Sat, Feb 21, 2026 at 12:22 AM <sfabc-nj-science-sc...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

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Science fiction blinded us to the perils of settling Mars

H K <hkc...@gmail.com>: Feb 20 11:54AM -0800

Science fiction blinded us to the perils of settling Mars   https://bigthink.com/books/science-fiction-mars/

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[Dale L. Skran LLC]

You may find of interest in my very long review of A City on Mars found here:

https://nss.org/wp-content/uploads/NSS-JOURNAL-Critique-of-A-City-on-Mars.pdf

Needless to say, I would describe A City on Mars as far from being impeccably researched, although there is much of value in the book.

I withhold comment on "Becoming Martian" since it is new and I have yet to read it, and reviews sometimes mistake what the author is saying due to the reviewer's agenda.

If you find any errors in my critique, I would like to hear about them.

Best Regards,

Dale Skran

dale....@nss.org

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[Philip De Parto]

While Dale does warn that this is a LONG review, people should be aware that it is 90 pages long.

I do not intend to read it myself, but folks Stephen Rubin, Thomas Schoenborne, and David vun Kannon may find it of interest.

Dale is a former SFABC speaker and active in the National Space Society.

Phil

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