Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory,

we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge.

To hear it and every episode early and ad-free, plus hours of bonus content,

check out go.nebula.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur.

To stand on Mars for me to prove humanity can reach another world,

but does that make it the next step, or just the most tempting distraction?

When we talk about the future of humanity in space,

one destination comes up more than any other, Mars.

The red planet has captured our imagination for over a century, standing as the symbolic

next great leap after the moon.

If the moon was our first step, Mars feels like the first real stride, an entire planet,

a world in its own right, waiting for us to set boots on its dusty

soil and raise our banners beneath its pale skies. But is Mars really the next logical step,

or is it just a romantic distraction pulling our gaze outward, while more practical options

lie closer to home.

This is not a question of whether Mars matters.

It certainly does.

It's a question of how it matters.

Today we will explore both sides of that coin, the reasons we should go to Mars, and the equally important reasons why perhaps we should pause, prepare, and focus on nearer,

more useful goals first.

This episode is not about how Mars is a waste of time, or a challenge too great to us.

Neither is true, that I have been both saddened and angered by the uptick in folks implying

...