Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2024 winner announced

The winner of the 2024 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book has been announced.

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by husband and wife team Kelly and Zach Weinersmith (Particular Books) was announced as the winner of the prize at an award ceremony and dinner at the Royal Society in London this evening (24th October).

The ceremony was hosted by the Society’s president, Sir Adrian Smith. Broadcaster and writer Samira Ahmed moderated a panel discussion between the shortlisted authors as part of the event, and the trophy was presented by author and 2004 winner of the prize, Bill Bryson.

The book is a culmination of "conferences, endless interviews and 27 shelves of books and papers on space settlement and related subjects", and "takes readers on a journey to clear up misconceptions about the feasibility of space settlement".

The five-member panel of judges praised the accessibility of the writing style and the "engaging nature of the book’s illustrations, deeming it a timely work which deftly combines robust scientific research and pertinent and complex ethical questions".

Professor John Hutchinson FRS, chair of the 2024 judging panel, and Professor of Evolutionary Biomechanics at the Royal Veterinary College, said: “A City on Mars blew me away with its ambitious cross-disciplinary perspective. It covers questions as broad as: What do we know and not know about human physiology and reproduction in space? How well might our mental health hold up? Are the Moon, a space station or an asteroid good alternatives to a Mars settlement? And finally, what, if anything, is there regarding international law on space settlement, and how much wiggle room is there? The Weinersmiths manage to answer these questions and point ways forward for overcoming the hurdles involved in finding some way to settle space, someday. They walk a tightrope of maintaining not only scientific rigour and fairness, but also a lot of humour, leveraged by amusing and informative sketches. We finish the book understanding that, while humanity having a city on Mars might yet be centuries away, many good reasons remain to pursue the lofty goal of settling space. Many of those reasons begin with doing more science and developing more technology here on Earth – and in the meantime, trying our best to preserve our precious planet.”

Alongside Professor John Hutchinson FRS, the 2024 judging panel comprised Booker Prize-winning author and screenwriter Eleanor Catton; New Scientist Comment and Culture Editor Alison Flood; teacher, broadcaster and writer Bobby Seagull; and lecturer in Functional Materials at Imperial College London, and Royal Society University Research Fellow, Dr Jess Wade.

The Weinersmiths will be presented with a cheque for £25,000, with the other five shortlisted authors will receive £2,500 each.