But they basically reach the conclusion that we will never colonize Mars, or any other place in space.

On the science board, I posted an article about that (i.e. we will never be able to colonize anywhere). I don't accept "never", because we humans are very ingenious. But, as tech currently stands, we can't do it. We could overcome the microgravity problem by having sections of any vessel spin. The radiation is another problem, and having enough shielding to protect the astronauts would be prohibitively heavy.

The article I posted specifically mentioned renal failure (due to cosmic radiation). By the time any astronauts would reach Mars, they would already be sick (possibly terminal). They would never survive the homeward journey, suffering acute renal failure long before they got here. And all the time they were on Mars, they would suffer continued radiation since Mars has no magnetic field to speak of, and almost no atmosphere. Both those things protect us here on Earth, or else we never would have evolved.

Berkshire Hathaway FAQ

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