Can we settle space? It might be more complex than you think. This week on planetary radio.

I'm Sarah Aleicmae of the Planetary Society, with more of the Human Adventure

across our solar system and beyond. Kelly and Zach Wienersmith join us this week to discuss their new book, A City on Mars.

Then Bruce Betts, the chief scientist of the Planetary Society and I, will talk about the most significant challenges humanity might face when we build habitats in space.

If you love planetary radio and want to stay informed about the latest space discoveries,

make sure you hit that subscribe button on your favorite podcasting platform. By subscribing, you'll never miss an

episode filled with new and on-spiring ways to know the Cosmos and your place within it.

As space fans, many of us dream about a future where humans live all across the worlds of our solar system.

Imagine living on the moon, calling up your friend on Mars, and then taking a vacation together on a spinning space station in orbit around Saturn.

Humanity has made a lot of progress toward this goal and there's so much to be hopeful for,

but the task is much more complicated than people think.

As governments and commercial space companies race to meet the challenge, it's a good moment to take

a step back and really make sure that we're thinking it through.

Our guest this week, Zach and Kelly Wienersmith, were so excited about the prospect

that they decided to write a book on this subject. Of course, the more they

learned, the more they realized that it's not as simple as we all hoped it could be.

Classic. Kelly and Zach Wainer Smith are a wife and husband research team that spent four years

trying to understand what it would take for humans to settle space. Kelly is a biologist and Zach is a cartoonist.

You may have seen his work on Saturday morning breakfast cereal.

With the powers of science, historical context, and humor,

they went on a mission to understand this complex topic.

Attending conferences, conducting interviews, and reading books and papers to produce what I think

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