Science fiction blinded us to the perils of settling Mars

"In Andy Weir's bestselling novel The Martian, foul-mouthed protagonist Mark Watney "sciences the shit" out of his circumstances to survive being stranded on Mars. The result is an engrossing work of science fiction, particularly captivating for its apparent realism. Watney ekes out an existence by eating potatoes sowed in Martian soil fertilized by his own feces. He shelters from the frigid conditions in his above-ground habitation unit, huddling around a repurposed, radiating nuclear battery."

"We now know a "toxic cocktail" of oxidants, iron oxides, and perchlorates permeate the Martian soil and would make growing plants exceedingly difficult. Watney might have been able to harvest a few stunted potatoes, but they would hardly be nourishing, likely leaving him weakened and emaciated. Moreover, his habitat should have been built below ground rather than above it. With no functional magnetosphere, Mars' surface radiation is nearly as intense as in deep space."

"These blunt truths about dwelling on Mars are a few of the many fascinating buzzkills about space settlement that biologist, professor, and science communicator Scott Solomon provides in his new book, Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds. As Solomon observes, humanity is tantalizingly close to becoming an interplanetary species. Tech titans like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are staking vast fortunes on making it happen within our lifet"

Humans face major obstacles to living on Mars despite popular portrayals. Martian regolith contains oxidants, iron oxides, and perchlorates that would severely inhibit plant growth and contaminate crops. Surface agriculture would likely produce stunted, poorly nourishing food, leaving settlers weakened. Mars' lack of a functional magnetosphere leads to surface radiation levels approaching deep-space exposure, while the thin atmosphere offers negligible protection from micrometeorites. Practical habitats would need to be subterranean to shield inhabitants. Ambitious private and public efforts aim to make humanity interplanetary, but physiological, environmental, and engineering challenges make Mars settlement far more difficult and inhospitable than often imagined.

Read at Big Think