Race into space? Not so fast, say Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, the husband-and-wife team whose book, A City on Mars, lays out some of the challenges that face space settlements on the Moon, Mars or wherever man (and woman) might be heading in the future.

Space may look more promising with all the problems on Earth but while there may not be pollution on Mars, there are plenty of issues to face before relocating to space. Kelly’s a biologist while Zach’s an artist who provided the many cartoons and illustrations in the book. The two admitted to spending four years researching the subject of space settlements.

They went into the project excited about the possibilities but came away skeptical, said Kelly Weinersmith. “The more research we did, the more problems we came across,” she said. “We’re definitely not anti-space settlement but we are pro-a thoughtful, slow approach.”

Among the issues raised in the book are the problems of living in space, the effects of low gravity or space radiation on the human body, the transport of materials into space, and the laws that would define what resources one could use on the Moon or Mars and the altercations that could break out if there’s a difference of opinion between countries on the use of those resources.

“Space is beautiful but it’s also deeply political,” said Kelly Weinersmith. Countries tend to look at space exploration as a way of saying, “Look how advanced we are,” she said.

Robotics will play a big role in space exploration, Kelly Weinersmith conceded but only if robots can perform all the tasks needed to allow humans to live in space. That involves technology yet to be developed, she said.

“We don’t know how to do it yet, but we still believe that someday, with enough knowledge, we can have Mars…But we must earn it, both by gaining in knowledge and be becoming a more responsible, more peaceful species. Going to the stars will not make us wise. We have to become wise if we want to go to the stars,” she said.