Don’t Plan that Trip to Mars Just Yet (Space Travel is a Transportation Issue Too, Right?)

A recent article in USA Today described the ill effects of extreme radiation exposure in the event that humans travel to Mars. The article states that “…astronauts would likely receive a significant fraction, about 15% to 20%, of their lifetime allowable radiation dose on a round-trip to Mars,” a trip that is estimated to be about 6 months. The research and planning going into potential travel to Mars comes from President Obama’s space exploration plan, which he revealed in 2010. The plan also calls for possible travel to a nearby asteroid, and both of these plans are being spearheaded by NASA and private teams.

Is Technology Enough?

The smart city concept has been a popular model for solving urban problems, and there is valid support for the level of excitement surrounding it. Technology for urban planning has been developing quickly, specifically with the proliferation of incredibly useful planning apps, innovations in digital infrastructure and data gathering tools such as wireless sensor networks. All of these have helped us better monitor, analyze, plan, and implement urban guidelines. However, we should remain cognizant of the past and keep in mind how long-lasting and difficult it is to reverse urban planning projects. New technology can and will be extremely helpful in building our cities intelligently, but technology alone will not be enough to solve our urban issues.