The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must by Robert Zubrin (PDF)

Description

Since the beginning of human history, Mars has been an alluring dream—the stuff of legends, gods, and mystery. The planet most like ours, it has still been thought impossible to reach, let alone explore and inhabit. But all that changed when leading space exploration authority Robert Zubrin crafted a daring new blueprint, Mars Direct. When it was first published in 1996, The Case for Mars became an instant classic, lauded widely for its game-changing perspective by those who would see the American space program rise to the challenge of Mars; Carl Sagan called Zubrin the man who, “nearly alone, changed our thinking on this issue.” Now, fifteen years later, Zubrin brings readers up to date in this revised and updated anniversary edition filled with spectacular illustrations, extraordinary photographs, and one-of-a-kind anecdotes. Unlike the dead world of the Moon, the Martian landscape is filled with possibility, but humans must be able to survive there. In the grand tradition of successful explorers, Zubrin calls for a travel-light and live-off-the-land approach to Martian settlement. He explains how scientists can use present-day technology to send humans to Mars; produce fuel and oxygen on the planet’s surface with its own natural resources; build bases and settlements; and one day terraform—or alter the atmosphere of the planet in order to pave the way for sustainable life. As the landmark mission of the Mars Science Laboratory begins, Zubrin lays out a comprehensive plan to build life on a new world.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: About the Author Robert Zubrin, formerly a senior engineer at Lockheed Martin, is the founder of Pioneer Astronautics, a space-exploration research and development firm. Currently chairman of the executive committee of the National Space Society, Dr. Zubrin lives with his family in Indian Hills, Colorado.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Just under a year ago from when I’m writing these words was a half-century since Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. We’re just under two and a half years away from when Apollo 17 left the Moon and ended humanity’s forays into deep space, to date anyway. Since then, the question has remained the same, “what next?” If you’re Robert Zubrin, then that answer can be summed up in one word: Mars. And in 1996, and with updating in 2011, he made a compelling case for the Red Planet.Fundamentally, The Case for Mars is precisely that. Zubrin, the founder of the Mars Society and co-creator of the Mars Direct plan, put forward just how we might get to the Red Planet in the short term. Across nearly 190 pages, Zubrin offers a crash course on Mars and his proposal. Readers get the history of the human fascination with Mars, our robotic efforts to explore the planet, and just why we haven’t put human boots on its surface yet. Doing that, Zubrin gets into the bit he is most earnest about: talking about how to get a crew to Mars. Those familiar with the Mars Direct proposal via numerous documentaries and articles will find a full laying out of what such a voyage will take, from hardware and crew selection to the risks involved. If you need convincing that Mars is a place to go to, and that Mars Direct is the way to do it, then the first half of the book is what you need. Even better, it’s written in a style and language where almost anyone can understand it.It’s in the back half, give or take, where the book runs into some trouble. Getting into colonization and the question of terraforming, the book becomes far more technical than it had been in previous chapters. To the point that, as a space enthusiast rather than being an engineer or chemist, I found myself a little out of my depth, I’m not afraid to say. The concluding chapter, The View from Earth, and the epilogue too, for that matter, likely won’t sit well with some readers, especially with the nostalgic angle for both the golden days of Apollo and the American frontier. For a book that is so much about looking forward, it suddenly feels very backward-looking. Not to mention Zubrin’s support for a potential Anasazi X Prize model to get to Mars in the final chapter. After all, the events of the last decade suggest that, despite the hype around it, it isn’t likely to produce the Mars mission that Zubrin hopes it will.For all of its flaws, Zubrin makes a compelling Case for Mars. Indeed, you can see his influence on Mars missions both in fiction (the film Mission to Mars or Andy Weir’s novel The Martian) and in reality with NASA’s planning. A human voyage to the Red Planet is still a ways off, but one can’t help but feel that Zubrin’s book and advocacy have gotten us closer. And that, when we do go, it’ll likely be something akin to what he described here.

⭐This is a very inspiring book that makes a strong case of beginning the Mars exploration right now with the nowadays existing technology. The book not only reveals a well thought plan how to reach Mars and how to establish a long term base there, but also gives very convincing reasons why it is vitally important for the human civilization to do this now. In the course of telling the future story of Mars colonization, the book gives a lot of educational information on chemistry, metallurgy, geology, and astrophysics. It is a wonderful reading for students from high school to college graduates. But the book goes beyond Mars. It talks a lot about human civilization, about the existence of life and the meaning of life – to continuously spread and colonize the universe. The life on Earths has started as a part of this colonization at bacterial level and has to be continued by the humankind.The writing throughout the book is very temperamental, and the author has clearly a strong agenda to promote his position. While this is not a bad thing in general, sometimes the author goes too far in his single-sided opinion and believe that his way is the only true way to follow. Anybody who happened to express a different opinion is strongly, even sarcastically denied in the book. Going to Mars must be done in the Apollo type of style – in one single-minded effort in ten years by Americans alone, because, you see, the Americans are the only frontier nation on this planet, and since the American continent is fully colonized already, American nation has no other choice, but either find a new frontier or be extinct! We have to remember that US is not the only civilization on Earth, no matter how great it is at this moment of time. There are nations that have lived and are still pretty much viable and prosperous for millennia (not just 200 years) without continuously expanding and colonializing. Actually, settling on one place for generations these nations were able to create culture and wisdom build in their traditions, customs, architecture and folklore. America feels and continuously profits from these foreign cultures through the constant immigration from the whole world. Thus the thesis of concur or die is not quite a valid one to go to Mars. The Mars colonization is a too large and significant effort to be treated as a self-proving and ego-saving ordeal and should be undertaken by the whole humanity together – the way the ISS was build and is continued to be exploited – not the Apollo way. There should be a long term consensus, by the US congress and by the governments of other developed countries that such a colonization is timely. A ten year timeframe request to develop such a program is unrealistic. It sounds like, if we happened to have the right president for two terms, we can neglect all order issues and convince him/her to pay our visist to Mars on behalf of the whole nation. When we are starting a new course for the humankind, the whole civilization, which does not mean US only, has to be ready and determined to do it. Criticizing sarcastically the NASA administration, the Congress, and the US government for short-sighting in taking the present course of action (or inaction – according to the author) is not a very constructive behavior, to say the least. There is no need to be so ill tempered. Mars is on the list. NASA and the Congress, are obviously discussing and even practically working on the issue. And very likely, a lot of the ideas, presented in this book are closely looked at and may very well be exploited in a future Mars mission. But there are many other considerations too. Prioritization is important. The lack of a frontier (or the shortsightedness to see frontiers on Earth now), is not a tragedy and does not necessarily doom a civilization. Settling down for a while, may be actually a good thing. After such a rapid and exhaustive technological revolution comes time for a period of evolution, when the humankind needs to step back, calms down, get some wisdom from its achievements, may be get its house on Earth in better order, and then look to the next frontier.

⭐Subtitled, The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must, this extraordinary work by Robert Zubrin, with Richard Wagner, is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Mars either as an observer or as, in my case, a writer of science fiction.In researching for my novel about Mars, I’ve read a great deal of the literature both in books and online. Zubrin’s book has proved the most thought-provoking, and the most inspirational. An aerospace engineer and writer, he’s also the founder of the Mars Society and a driving force behind Mars Direct, a proposal designed to produce real reductions in the cost and complexity of such a mission.The book is, in some senses, a technical manual for creating a project to get to Mars and colonise the planet. There is fascinating history revealed here. But, primarily, there is much technical detail of the chemistry, physics, biology and engineering involved in the process of reaching and staying on the red planet.He is sceptical of the recent projects currently undertaken by NASA and singularly frustrated by the small-minded attitudes of the politicians in the USA who dictate the what and the where of space exploration. He is also scathing of some of the ideas put forward by contemporaries. But he backs up his concerns with evidence and rational argument.I’m no scientist, though I have a more than average interest in space and the science of space exploration. I read, and took copious notes from, this book in order to be as technically informed about matters Martian to allow me to write a credible story set on the red planet. The content has certainly allowed me to feel I’ve done that, when taken together with the other research I’ve undertaken. This book, however, provides more than mere facts and formulae. It’s full of ideas about how certain difficult tasks might be achieved using current technology and knowledge, and how others may be managed in the future using developing technology.For the amateur, the person without deep science training, this is not an easy book. In parts it describes processes and chemical reactions that will be well outside the experience of such readers. But the information is given in such a manner that, with a little application, the gist, if not an absolute detailed understanding, can be gained.As part of my research, I also watched the recent movie, The Martian, as I’d heard its science was very good. It was entertaining, certainly, but some of the science was clearly not as good as it could have been. Since I’d employed certain aspects of folklore about Mars as elements of the story I’ve already produced in first draft form, I’m very glad I undertook this additional research prior to editing. Some of those elements I took as factual turn out to be based on fallacies. No matter; rewriting is an essential part of any fiction writer’s skill. And I shall now rewrite with the knowledge and confidence of an informed storyteller as a result of reading this excellent book.There is passion as well as erudition in this lengthy read. The author clearly knows what he is talking about and has a deep understanding of the technical issues as well as the social aspects of colonising a distant world. He debunks certain fondly-held theories, explains why others are flawed and inoperable, and presents his own solutions to the many problems in terms that are credible and inspiring. If you have any interest in the only other planet in our solar system that may be made capable of sustaining complex life, I suggest you give this book a go. I’m very pleased I did.

⭐I’m reasonably interested in astronomy and in space travel. In a discussion on a website (can’t remember which) about future space travel someone strongly recommended me to read this book, so I bought it. I’m glad I did! Before reading it I had the impression that, ok, here I will get some information about how a travel to Mars could be accomplished and why we should pick Mars instead of Venus or returning to the Moon.What I didn’t know was just how much more attractive Mars is than other destinations within the Solar System. The book is in this respect amazing. Filled with facts Zubrin demonstrates not just how expenses can be massively cut back; why we don’t need NASA’s highly expensive “monster plans”; but also how necessary it is to travel to Mars and how much human civilization will gain by doing so.If you are interested in space travel and the future I strongly urge you to buy and read this book.

⭐An excellent introduction – if a little optimistic given the current state of technology. I like the view that we can get there for $50 billion.However, he makes a good case for why we need to get to Mars. It is written very much from the perpective of why America needs this and is currently the only country which can get there. But even the updated version does not take account of the fact that the USA could probably not make the attempt given the financial state of that country.The only way it will happen though is via another space race – as in the race to the Moon where money was no object. The only way that will happen is after the Chinese annex the Moon in the late 2020s.That may wake up America but I somewhat doubt it. The Red Planet will eventually be the Yellow one.The book is a little technical in parts but not to a degree where the average person could not follow the reasoning or understand what is being said. The tone can be somewhat ‘evangelical’ but he believes what he is saying so can be forgiven.

⭐Mars! That’s were I want to go now! Take me to the Red planet!

⭐The review guide states that the review is to be relevant to the content and/or context. In this case, they’re two rather different reviews. Personally, I find Zubrin’s Mars Direct/Mars Colony plan (the content part) flawed in quite a few ways, here are a couple: 1) the “frontier spirit” arguement is used often, and I agree that humanity is at its best when challenged and exploration and colonisation certainly serves this goal. But the specific case for Mars, as opposed to the moons of Saturn/Jupiter, asteroid belts etc are not made. 2) Assumptions about the industry of a Mars colony, deuterium mining for use in fusion for example, are founded on an unproven theoretical industry and also, due to the prevelance of Helium 3, encourage a settlement on the moon instead. Asteroid mining is posited but this is an arguement for mining asteroids, Mars is superfluous to this. 3) The Mars Direct mission itself is a tight rope and although Zubrin convincingly deals with many of the dangers the book is, perhaps necessarily lean on specifics regards crew details (men? women? age?) and logistic details, I personally doubt the craft has enough space for food, water, spare parts etc although I happen to know many of these details have been worked out at later dates, the crewing level has now been raised to 6, those ammendments are not present here. And on and on. However, Zubrin is making a case, not a watertight arguement and would doubtless concede that the debate is far from over so, in the spirit of the context side of the review I would say buy this book, absolutely, the Mars Direct plan is an excellent, ingenious basic idea that deserves publicity and this book should be bought and debated by scientists, students, policymakers and the general public alike.

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