Summary of A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?

By GP SUMMARY

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This book does not in any capacity mean to replace the original book but to serve as a vast summary of the original book.

 

Summary of A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?

 

IN THIS SUMMARIZED BOOK, YOU WILL GET:

 

• Chapter astute outline of the main contents.
• Fast & simple understanding of the content analysis.
• Exceptionally summarized content that you may skip in the original book

 

A City on Mars is a book by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, a bestselling author of Soonish, that explores the possibility of settling the stars in a distant future. The authors argue that while space technologies and business are progressing rapidly, there is still a lack of knowledge needed to create space nations without sparking conflict back home. The book explores questions about space settlements, such as the possibility of making babies in space, the governance of corporations, space war, housing crises, and the legal status of space cannibalism. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the possibility of becoming multiplanetary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookRix
• Release date: Nov 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9783755460459

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Summary of A City on Mars

A

Summary of Kelly Weinersmith’s book

Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?

GP SUMMARY

Summary of A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?

By GP SUMMARY© 2023, GP SUMMARY.

All rights reserved.

Author: GP SUMMARY

Contact: [e-mail]

Cover, illustration: GP SUMMARY

Editing, proofreading: GP SUMMARY

Other collaborators: GP SUMMARY

NOTE TO READERS

This is an unofficial summary & analysis of Kelly Weinersmith’s A City on Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? designed to enrich your reading experience.

DISCLAIMER

The contents of the summary are not intended to replace the original book. It is meant as a supplement to enhance the reader's understanding. The contents within can neither be stored electronically, transferred, nor kept in a database. Neither part nor full can the document be copied, scanned, faxed, or retained without the approval from the publisher or creator.

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Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

Space settlement presents a promising opportunity to explore new worlds, but the public discourse is full of myths and misunderstandings. SpaceX's internet service provider, Starlink, has declared that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities. Mars is regulated by long-standing treaties and is an international commons, and leaving a 2°C warmer Earth for Mars would be like leaving a messy room with toxic dust.

Sitting other worlds is unlikely anytime soon and won't deliver on the benefits touted by advocates. Space agencies, corporations, and media-savvy billionaires are promising settlements as soon as 2050, which will save Earth's biosphere, enable a creative frontier civilization, or provide economic advantages for the United States, China, India, or others. However, most problems, especially those pertaining to biology and economics, are more complex than making bigger rockets or cheaper spacecraft.

International legal structures governing space have barely been updated since the 1970s, and the modern world of fast-growing space capitalism and launch capability creates the makings of a new Moon Race. This race will likely involve attempts to gain priority access to the highly limited best portions of the Moon, increasing the risk of conflict and potential danger.

Space settlements are a potential solution for humanity if we survive the next few centuries, but the choices we make now will shape our future in ways we cannot yet imagine. To make these choices properly, people must know the truth about space settlement, including questions about medicine, reproduction, law, ecology, economics, sociology, and warfare.

Dr. Daniel Deudney's book, Space Bastardry: The Long View, presents an argument against a massive human presence in space, arguing that it creates existential peril such as nuclear conflict on Earth due to a scramble for space territory and the risk of heavy objects being thrown at Earth if humans are allowed to control things like asteroids and massive orbital space stations. The more capacity we have to do things in space, the more capacity we have for self-annihilation, which doesn't require anything like interplanetary war either.

Space settlement has been a long-standing idea since the Victorian era, with various theories suggesting that space will lessen the chance of war, improve politics, end scarcity, save us from climate change, reinvigorate a homogenized and rapidly wussifying Earth, and make us all as wise as philosophers. However, these ideas are almost certainly wrong, and they remain widespread and influential among powerful technologists in the space-settlement movement and in space agencies.

Space settlement is not a solution to scarcity, environmental concerns, or wisdom. Technological and scientific barriers are significant, and legal structures may cause conflicts. International competition and geopolitical escalation may also hinder long-term ambitions. Space settlement plans should be a project of centuries, with a wait-and-go-big approach, involving research and development in various fields, including artificial wombs and international law.

The debate on the role of space in promoting global cooperation and understanding is complex and multifaceted. While space travel may provide insights into human oneness and the environment, it is not a definitive solution to global conflicts. The concept of stagnation in the world's exploration and development has been a topic of debate for decades. Space cooperation does not unify us, as it often occurs when nations already get along.

Going to space is a meaningful and transcendent experience, but it also presents challenges. The overview effect is less likely to occur in space, and there are many stories of astronauts behaving poorly. The idea that creating nations in space will revitalize Earth's homogenized bureaucratic culture is a subject of debate among sociologists.

The Turner Thesis, or Frontier Thesis, claims that the United States became dynamic, democratic, and ruggedly individualistic due to a long-standing frontier culture. However, this theory is now rejected as a misleading oversimplification. Space is expensive, will have internet, and lacks a local population to exploit and murder. A more generalized version of this frontier argument suggests that the harsh world of space and the need for robotics will result in a vast increase in creativity.

The authors argue that the two most commonly used terms to indicate a place in space humans intend to live permanently are colony and settlement, and suggest alternatives such as communities beyond Earth, space outposts, space cities, and space villages.

PART I

The average astronaut combines deep specialist skills with the ability to pass physical and mental tests that most people would pass in a few days. Early spacefarers were ultraskilled test pilots, but their resumes remained intimidating. The lack of knowledge about space medicine for average people in large space settlements is concerning. The Apollo missions spent just under two weeks in the Moon's one-sixth Earth gravity, and nobody has been to space for longer than 437 days in a row. To address this, it is essential to understand what is known and what isn't. Some problems may be easily surmounted with near-term technology or money, while others may pose long-term barriers to permanent space settlement.

Suffocation, Bone Loss, and Flying Pigs: The Science of Space Physiology

The Prehuman Space Age

Humans are essentially a pillar of liquid with various biological systems, including digestion, waste storage, and blood movement. The first voyager to orbit Earth was Yuri Gagarin in 1961, but the first animals to orbit Earth were not the first. The US and USSR studied the effects