A City on Mars

Title: A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?

Bio: Dr. Kelly Weinersmith received her PhD in Ecology at the University of California Davis, and is an adjunct faculty member in the BioSciences Department at Rice University. Kelly studies parasites that manipulate the behavior of their hosts, and her research has been featured in The Atlantic, National Geographic, BBC World, Science, and Nature. When she isn’t studying Nature’s creepiest wonders, Kelly is writing books with her husband, Zach Weinersmith (creator of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Comics). Their books, Soonish and A City on Mars, are New York Times Bestsellers.

Abstract: 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. 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, the Weinersmiths' book A City on Mars investigates whether the dream of new worlds won’t create nightmares, both for settlers and the people they leave behind.

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Rice University Keck Hall Rm 100, 6100 Main St, Houston, United States