A city on Mars: can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?

Introduction: a homesteader's guide to the red planet?

A preamble on space myths

Part I: Caring for the spacefaring. Suffocation, bone loss, and flying pigs: the science of space physiology ; Space sex and consequences thereof ; Spacefarer psychology: in which the only thing we're sure of is that astronauts are liars ; Nota bene: rocketry goes to the movies, or, space capitalism in days of yore, part 1

Part II: Spome, spome on the range: where will humans live off-world?. The moon: great location, bit of a fixer-upper ; Mars: landscapes of poison and toxic skies, but what an opportunity! ; Giant rotating space wheels: not literally the worst option ; Worse options ; Nota bene: space is the place for product placement, or, space capitalism in days of yore, part 2

Part III: Pocket Edens: how to create a human terrarium that isn't all that terrible. Outputs and inputs: poop, food, and "closing the loop" ; There's no place like spome: how to build outer-space habitats ; Nota bene: the mystery of the tampon bandolier

Part IV: Space law for space settlements: weird, vague, and hard to change. A cynical history of space ; The outer space treaty: great for regulating space sixty years ago ; Murder in space: who killed the moon agreement? ; Nota bene: space cannibalism from a legal and culinary perspective

Part V: The paths forward: bound for Moonsylvania?. Commonsing the cosmos ; Dividing the sky ; The birth of space-states: like the birth of space babies, but messier ; Nota bene: violence in Antarctica, or, happy endings to stabby starts

Part VI: To plan B or not to plan B: space society, expansion, and existential risk. There's no labor pool on Mars: outer space as a company town ; How big is big?: plan B settlements without genetic or economic calamities ; Space politics by other means: on the possibility of space war ; A brief coda on a rarely considered alternative: wait-and-go-nowhere ; Nota bene: amusing astronaut names and the Soviet tendency to fuss over weird details

Conclusion: Of hot tubs and human destiny.