How We'll Live on Mars

We're going to Mars. We'll be there within 20 years. The technology is there and NASA is training for it. The question is, once we're there, how will we survivie? This isn't merely a question of figuring out how astronauts can maximize their stay for research purposes but how we will expand our human footprint beyond the Earth once we've exhausted the resources of this planet. Or in the event of a galactic calamity.

Unlike the last great space race this isn't about Cold War enemies flexing their muscle, there are plenty of private citizens with more funds than NASA funding research and development to get us there. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Paul Allen, and Richard Branson all have their multi-billion dollar fingers in this pie, and the technology is there. Tereforming a new planet is possible right now, the technology is already available, we just have to get there.

In under 100 pages How We'll Live on Mars lays how we'll probably get there, what we'll face in terms of establishing an initial base, and how efforts are already underway to colonize Mars within 50 years. And the numbers are staggering: Elon Musk is talking about getting 10's of thousands of people there by the mid-century mark. What seems crazy at first Petranek makes feel very real in a clear and factual tone. A solid, quick read that at the end will leave you believing the inevitable.

We're going to Mars.

How We'll Live on Mars
by Stephan L. Petranek
TED books, Simon & Schuster 2015