Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log summarizes the Mars is radioactive!" news from earlier this week, and puts it in perspective.

My reaction when reading about these new findings was..."Well, duhh."

What I missed in the initial reports on this was the fact that the measurements were of radiation in Mars orbit, rather than projections or interpretations of the radiation environment at the surface, where levels are certain to be attenuated to some degree by the atmosphere.

The problem with reporting on such discoveries is that most people have an unhealthy paranoia regarding radiation. The take-away from these reports, for most people, will likely be the notion that Mars, and interplanetary space between here and there, is too radioactive for us to visit let alone colonize. However, the radiation environment on the lunar surface is likely to be much more severe (I'd know for sure, if I could get Acrobat to work here)...and no one really questions whether that would prevent us from colonizing the Moon.

[via Mark Whittington]