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Letter: Mars colonists could just head for the desert instead

Published 4 December 2024

From Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK

I was glad to read Kelly and Zack Weinersmith’s debunking of Elon Musk’s idea of million-strong colonies on Mars. If people insist on living in hostile places either in domes or underground, the world has numerous deserts where they could establish themselves, with any problems concerning temperature, pressure, radiation or communication with the rest of us easily solved. The great urge to leave Earth and found colonies elsewhere is simply a manifestation of denial of the monstrous problems we shall all need to face here in the near future (16 November, p 48).

Issue no. 3520 published 7 December 2024

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