Settlers on Mars must live under six feet of dirt
To survive the relentless bombardment of cosmic rays, future pioneers on the Red Planet must build their homes deep inside the Martian soil.
Living on Mars requires more than just an oxygen tank; it requires a thick layer of dirt to act as a planetary umbrella. Because Mars lacks a protective magnetic field, a human standing on the surface would be exposed to one sievert of radiation per year, roughly the same as receiving five hundred chest X-rays. To block ninety-nine percent of these lethal cosmic rays, settlers must bury their habitats under six feet of regolith, the loose metallic dust that covers the planet.
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