Johns Hopkins University Press · Johns Hopkins Wavelengths
Are We Ready for Mars?
Mark Shelhamer with Brian Gallagher
October 13, 2026
What it will actually take to send people to Mars — and bring them home
A voyage to Mars is the ultimate test of endurance: of astronauts’ bodies and their minds, and of the materials and systems devised to protect them. We don’t know many of the risks involved, or haven’t studied them near enough. The challenge of mitigating them is as demanding, and as fascinating, as building the spaceship that’ll take humans there. This book is a rare look at the medical science, engineering, mission operations, and artificial intelligence that would have to work together—and why the siloed approaches that got us to the Moon will not be enough to get us to the Red Planet.
That journey will take the better part of a year. As the distance widens, communications with Earth slow, and the crew must act increasingly on their own. We understand how bones, muscles, eyes, and immune systems respond to months in low Earth orbit. No one knows what kind of toll the longer, farther trip will take—or how toxic soil, radiation, and low gravity will greet the people who land.
But one thing is for sure: Stepping foot on Mars will be the most badass feat humanity has ever pulled off.
Preorder from Johns HopkinsEarly praise
“A fantastically rich read that makes a powerful argument for why preparing humans to successfully travel to Mars—and back—will transform what it means to survive and flourish in the universe.”
“I knew that getting to Mars would be hard, but I didn’t realize it would be this hard. It can be done, but the authors make a strong case that space agencies and private companies will have to transform how they operate.”
“This is more than a book about getting to Mars—it’s a thoughtful and timely roadmap for designing the future of human spaceflight.”
“An insider’s honest, unsentimental, and hopeful map of what we know, what we don’t, and why getting there and back safely means replacing siloed approaches with the systems thinking that builds real resilience.”