Becoming Martian - Scott Solomon ****

Until recently there was a huge geeky talking point based on establishing a colony on Mars. Several billionaires took an interest, notably SpaceX's boss, while there was even the suggestion that a Mars colony could be run as a TV show, like an extraterrestrial Big Brother. The wilder speculation has now died down, but the idea of living on Mars still has a strong niche following. 

In Becoming Martian, Scott Solomon gives us an in-depth and engaging look at the difficulties faced in moving to our nearest semi-inhabitable planet, which are considerable. As Solomon points out, the idea of terraforming Mars, giving it a breathable atmosphere and enough greenhouse gasses to warm it up a bit, is simply impractical - even if such a massive effort could be achieved, the combination of relatively low gravity, limited nitrogen and no magnetic field would mean the new atmosphere would be quickly lost again.

This means that would-be Martians will have to protect themselves permanently from radiation, cold and lack of atmosphere. Oh, and the soil is laced with toxic perchlorates. Despite all this, there are people who are still attracted by the idea of moving permanently to Mars. Solomon takes us through the specific difficulties - for example the social issues that have arisen in groups of people shut in isolated environments that attempt to replicate conditions on a space colony on Earth, and the effects of reduced gravity on human bodies - and the more speculative considerations, such as sex and birth in space and on Mars, or whether over generations martian residents would evolve to be a distinctive species.

One significant omission is saying much about the practicalities of getting there. Solomon points out how long it takes, and has a nice chapter on the history of human space travel, but there is nothing really on how you would get significant numbers to Mars safely. Although he doesn't mention it, there has been a long history of Mars probes failing, and the success of a few rovers doesn't give any clue as to what would be required to get survivable human habitation in place. I appreciate the focus of the book is the physical and psychological impact of the exercise, but surely getting there is an essential part of becoming Martian.

We get a nice mix of anecdotes from visits Solomon does, interviews with astronauts and scientific studies all pulled together in a readable fashion. However, when compared with the Weinersmith's A City on Mars, I think Solomon is too optimistic. This was highlighted by a a comment that Mars's natural resources make it 'the most attractive place we know of in our solar system for human habitation.' Solomon does qualify this in an end note that says '...other than Earth, it must be noted' - but it's a very big 'other than'. Despite this, though, it was an enjoyable picture of the current status of this highly speculative concept.

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Review by Brian Clegg - See all Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly email free here