Guardian Science Weekly

Could we really live on Mars?

Loading player...
Space-settling enthusiasts have long had an eye on Mars, and now they have the backing of the world’s richest man. Elon Musk recently claimed that humans could be on the planet by 2030 and be living there in a self-sustaining city within 20 years. But is it really that simple? Madeleine Finlay heads to Imperial College London where Prof Sanjeev Gupta gives her a tour of the red planet, and meets Kelly Weinersmith who, along with her husband, Zach, recently won the Royal Society Trivedi science book prize for their book A City on Mars. She explains why life on Mars may not be the idyll some would have us believe. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
4 Nov 2024 English United Kingdom Science · Nature

Other recent episodes

What is a food intolerance, and how do you know if you have one?

Social media is awash with content about food intolerances and the symptoms to look out for. But figuring out whether you actually have one, and what’s triggering it, is surprisingly difficult. One avenue people are gravitating towards is at-home testing. Madeleine Finlay sits down with health and lifestyle journalist Rebecca…
28 Apr 17 min

Mythos: are fears over new AI model panic or PR?

Earlier this month the AI company Anthropic said it had created a model so powerful that, out of a sense of responsibility, it was not going to release it to the public. Anthropic says the model, Mythos Preview, excels at spotting and exploiting vulnerabilities in software, and could pose a…
21 Apr 15 min
All episodes