I can’t stop looking at this shot of the Falcon Heavy. Is that weird?
Mars Society President Robert Zubrin Applauds SpaceX
“Today SpaceX achieved a spectacular and historic success.”
https://www.facebook.com/TheMarsSociety/photos/a.287980761218291.90535.152489854767383/2053366658013017/?type=3&theater
Radiation and The Martian
Here’s a fun paper that analyzes the radiation exposure of characters in The Martian. The TL;DR is that Mark Watney would have fared better than his crewmates in the Hermes.
Mars, with its thin atmosphere and lack of magnetosphere, doesn’t offer as much protection as Earth, but it’s better than nothing.
http://www.anser.org/docs/The_Radiation_Threat_to_the_Martian.pdf