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

A City on Mars is a book by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith that investigates whether the dream of new worlds will create a nightmare for settlers and the people they leave behind. It is a brilliant and hilarious off-world investigation into space settlement.

Format: Hardback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 07 November 2023
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

One of the Times Best Science Books of the Year
The International Bestseller
The #2 Most Gifted Book in the Solar System




From the bestselling authors of Soonish, a brilliant and hilarious off-world investigation into space settlement, Earth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away, with no climate change, no war, and no Twitter, beckons, and settling the stars finally seems within our grasp. Or is it? Bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of original research, and interviews with leading space scientists, engineers, and legal experts, they aren't so sure it's a good idea. Space tech and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the deep 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, A City on Mars investigates whether the dream of new worlds won't create a nightmare, both for settlers and the people they leave behind.


With deep expertise, a winning sense of humor, and art from the beloved creator of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, the Weinersmiths investigate perhaps the biggest questions humanity will ever ask itself: whether and how to become multiplanetary.

Weight: 808g
Dimension: 164 x 241 x 39 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780241454930