Getting to Mars isn’t enough: Why staying alive will be the biggest challenge

SpaceX’s Starship is projected to be ready for a trip to Mars in the next 5 years. But are we? Colonizing space in the next few decades may seem like a forgone conclusion, but let’s take a more honest look at the science. 

An honest look at the science is exactly what Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, the authors of A City on Mars, are offering. These space optimists turned into space realists while researching the possibility of human habitats in outer space. 

The environments we would encounter on other planets aren’t just harsher versions of what we have on earth. In some ways they’re actively hostile to any living being, more hostile than practically any environment on earth. From dramatic temperature swings to deadly cosmic radiation to bone degradation, here are the real – and often overlooked – factors we need to contend with if we’re going to be able to successfully incubate human life on another planet.