Customer Reviews

The CASE FOR MARS

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Robert Zubrin is a long-time advocate of space colonization and a former CEO of the National Space Society. He knows what he's talking about. "The Case for Mars" sets out the technological, economic, and -- most intriguingly -- political reasons for expanding human civilization off this planet. Zubrin's plans for terraforming Mars into a near-earthlike climate are the part of the book that has gotten the most attention. But his political rationale for Mars settlement -- that ultimately, freedom requires a frontier and the values that a frontier cultivates -- are the most inspirational part of the book from my perspective. An absolute must-read for space, or freedom, enthusiasts.

As an aerospace engineering student highly interested in space exploration (and wishing to go professional with this also) , I really found this book to be a real treat. Definitely was inspiring coming from an author that wishes to advance mankind technologically into the realm of space.. A view that I have concurred with ever since I was in grade school. The book was not just some bored rocket engineer's (or scientist's) science fiction memo, I found his plan extremely plausible and do-able. I especially liked the historical allusions he made throughout the account proving that the grand majority of the technologies used in Mars Direct have been done before in the past(and many for thousands of years). If they have done before, there is no reason why they can not be done again. I loved the clear explanation of his plan. He did not go into too much math , but he gave a clear picture in my mind the concepts involved. Zubrin is very knowledgable and while I was reading this book I knew that what he was saying was well-founded. A MUST READ for those interested in space exploration, astronomy, or aerospace engineering!

When I first saw the book, I was surprised by its size - it's so thick! It took me two weeks to finish the book, and I love it. I have read many books about space exploration, especially on human Mars exploration, but it is the one which I admire the most. Dr Zubrin is so creative for coming up with a plan called "Mars Direct". This plan is very different from the NASA's "90-Day Report", it involves no orbital assembly, no orbital infrastructure, no orbital rendezvous, and it doesn't need advanced propulsion or any other technology that we don't have, and basically what the approach takes is to explore Mars the way we explore the Earth, which is "travel light, and live off the land". Dr Zubrin explains that we can use this technology by using the resources that can be found on Mars rather than entirely Earth-supplied. I believe "Mars Direct" is the only way to get to Mars, because not only it is the cheapest, but also it is easier to accomplish. Dr Zubrin also explains why a moon base is not needed before the human Mars mission, which many people believe it is a necessary first step toward Mars. I agree, in fact I think his answer is quite convincing.

Later in the book Dr Zubrin explains that we will start colonizing Mars once a region is chosen. Things like carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen which are very useful for human colonization are very common on Mars. Also there are plenty of chemical substances in the soil of Mars which can be used to make metals, or even nuclear reactors for the energy supplies. Compare to the moon, Mars has more useful resources for human colonization, and that's one of the reason why we should go to Mars, not the moon.

Finally Dr Zubrin said in the far future we may "terraform" Mars. He said we can do this by putting a gigantic mirror in the orbit round Mars. When it reflects the sunlight onto the polar cap, the polar cap will melt and release carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere, which will then warm the planet up. Or if we have a significant industrial capability on Mars we can produce artificial greenhouse gas like CFC. I don't think it is science fiction because I believe we can do this, and if we terraform Mars, it will become our second home.

The reason why our technology gets better is because we have plenty of resources on Earth, but once it becomes insufficient the result will be war and extinction of human being. The only way to avoid this is to search for other resources by exploring space, and of course, Mars is going to be a perfect place.

In his excellent "The Case for Mars", Robert Zubrin makes a thorough, thoughtful argument about the need for the exploration of Mars. In a very well rounded, easy to read work, he lays out both the scientific and humanistic reasons for a trip to the Red Planet. While his science is excellent (he is a former Lockheed engineer), what is most compelling about this book is what Zubrin sees as the primary reason for Mars exploration: it is there. He correctly asserts that humans are at their most creative and productive when they pit themselves against a major challenge. He sees the exploration and colonization of Mars as a means of injecting the human race with fresh vitality and drive. After reading this excellent book, I'm inclined to agree.

I was frustrated and burned out running a bookstore when I read through this book in less than two days. Right then and there I decided to change careers with the sole purpose of getting humanity to Mars. Now I work in technology and am learning whatever I can to help get us to Mars, not a flag-and-footprints mission like we did for the moon, but a permanent branch of humanity. NASA would have us go slow and leave it to the hands of the "experts," where Zubrin argues that if experts were in charge of Earth colonization we would all still be feeding off each other in Europe.

The science aspects interested me less than the Vision Thing, the idea that we are entering a Golden Age for the Earth at large, in which the problems are solved, the borders are thrown down, and we gradually withdraw into ourselves into decay. The same has happened to Rome and Greece and every other "world"-conquering nation. The day the last challenge was met was the beginning of the end.

We need a Frontier! The challenges of the Frontier will push us, drive us, force us to break stagnate molds and outdated methods. The Earth has run out of frontiers -- Mars beckons!

Hmmm... this is a difficult one to review.

This book is basically an advertisement for the author's "Mars Direct" scheme for manned mars missions.

On the one hand I laud Zubrin for all the time and effort he has placed into thinking up his "Mars Direct" plan for manned mars missions. The idea is certainly appealing and contians much that had never been presented before. Most interesting is his idea to live off of the land to minimize the need for bringing unneeded supplies and fuel.

On the other hand, it is apparent on first inspection that there are no shortage of technical shortcomings for the Mars Direct plan despite it's advantages. Much (if not all) of the hardware that would be required for Zubrin's plan does not exist today or exits in a format that is so far from practical application that for all intents and purposes it cannot yet be applied to this idea. Zubrin seems to assume that everything will work smoothly and that one mission will just flow smoothly into another. Both the US and Soviet space programs have clearly shown that hardware mishaps occur, usually with disastrous results. Zubrin's dependence on unmanned vehicles to go on ahead in advance and land safely as well as on target time after time is very unrealistic. If these unmanned vehicles malfunctioned or crashed everything is on hold for months or years until the problem can be fixed. The text does not even mention possible problems with the Mars Direct approach, a serious editorial oversight.

I don't mean to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Zubrin means well, and if more of us gave this problem the amount of effort he has, we would have been on mars 20 years ago. Read this book for it's novel ideas, but don't buy into them hook, line, and sinker.

I read this book while a seventh grader and it made sense. This is one of those few books which can be understood by America's youth. Robert Zubrin gave me a goal in my life of science: to get to Mars. The ideas were presented clearly and carefully, always with a sense of the passion Zubrin has in this endeavor. Comparing the Solar System to the world makes me think that it IS possible to go beyond Earth, that it IS possible to reach Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and even other stars. The walls of physics are far, far away. The void between is immense. Zubrin explains how we can use exotic propulsion systems to get to Mars in weeks instead of months, Jupiter in months instead of years, and other stars in decades instead of centuries. The possibilities are endless. An eyeopener to me, I strongly recommend it to anybody with time to read.

Speaking as an aerospace engineer, my evaluation of this book is that it gives a comprehensive and accurate assessment of not just reaching Mars on a realistically limited budget and time frame, but actually colonizing the planet. Most material I have read about space travel is either very detailed technical coverage of some small aspect, or some dreamer's uninformed broad brush speculations. This book gives comprehensive coverage of a workable plan that includes enough detail to verify that the author and his associates have done their homework.

The chief thing this book accomplishes is debunking the 'Battlestar Galactica' approach to going to Mars. It also presents a strong rationale for why it would be worthwhile to travel to Mars and to develop its resources for establishing a sustained presence. The atmospheric shielding for ultra-violet rays and the approximate 24 hour Martian day are key for planetary agriculture. Local resources can be processed for fuel and propellant. This practical handbook for colonists even includes a Martian calendar for reckoning its 669 day year.

The author establishes the significance of exploration and settlement throughout history. It seems likely that his own contribution of compiling reference material into a persuasive public advocacy will come to be seen as historical.

Kiddies, put your sci fi books away. This is not your parent's Mars.

In this deep and enthralling book, Robert Zubrin lays out, point by point, his method of madness for traversing the intergalactic distances and heading to Mars. Using his Mars Direct plan, we seen a plausible situation in which we could take Mars within the next decade, and begin pushing our boundaries to the so called "final frontier."

Not only does he provide the means on a very achievable time table, he also makes arguments against the so called "dragons" on the way to Mars, namely the threats of solar radiation and other such impacts. Yet, the effect of these are so negligible on the overall mission, Zubrin has us believe that yes, Mars is attainable in our generation.

After we get there, however, Zubrin takes another ambitious step towards the future: terraforming. He sees Mars as an ecological playground. one that we can change and make habitable for the expansion of earth.

All in all, this book is the Mars Bible for the era. It shows us the most sound way to get across the vast distance, stay on the surface, and return safely, while maximizing our scientific payout for the mission. Hopefully, one day we can realize Robert Zubrin's dream and land on Mars within the next decade.

Can we send people to Mars? Is it a good idea? Can we "terraform" Mars?

The author, writing in 1996, says that for about 20 billion to 30 billion dollars, we could do it. For a project starting now, launch of the return vehicle would be in about ten years, launch of the astronauts a couple of years later, and astronaut return less than three years after that.

What do I think of this? It's going to be expensive and risky. The statistics on unmanned Mars missions has not been completely encouraging. Manned missions are even trickier.

Is it a good idea? Well, let's see what Zubrin has to say. "We are not sending a crew to Mars to set a new altitude record for the Aviation Almanac. We are going to Mars to explore a planet; to determine if it ever harbored life in the past and to survey its potential as a future home for a new branch of human civilization."

I think going to Mars is a very reasonable idea, and we'll need that attitude to get there. If enough people agree and if we're willing to commit to it, we ought to try it. I think exploration of the solar system is indeed our birthright, and we ought to do it whether or not we think there is (or was) life on Mars. I think "ad astra" ("to the stars") is a good motto. The meek will inherit the Earth. The rest of us will aim a little higher.

Zubrin now explains his idea for an initial manned mission. He's proposed sending the return module there first. After Zubrin said this, I think most folks started to realize that it's a good idea. Now, what about the trajectory? A fast mission is better than a slow one. And the author explains that a "conjunction" mission is much better than an "opposition" mission. The former spends much more time on the Martian surface, is less expensive, and appears less risky.

Zubrin discusses crew size, and concludes that a 4-person crew is probably best. And there is a nice chapter on "killing the dragons, avoiding the sirens." The "dragons" include risks from radiation, zero-gravity, Martian weather, contamination of Mars, and back-contamination of the Earth. Yes, there are risks, but they can be handled. A "siren" is the belief that we need lunar bases before going to Mars. Zubrin explains that such bases are not necessary.

The author discusses advanced propulsion technologies that might make it easier for us to go to Mars, although his plans can be implemented with present technologies. I think that we need to keep developing advanced technologies and that they'll help us. But I agree that even without them, we can still get to Mars.

We can go to Mars if we make a serious commitment to do so. But what about the package deal? Can we terraform Mars, even if we are committed to do so? Would it take too long? Do we have the resources as a species to do such a thing? Zubrin delves into these questions. He asks, "Can we transform Mars to make it fully habitable?" On the, um, surface, "the idea appears to be utterly fantastical, simply science fiction." But he points out that it hasn't been long since traveling to the Moon was science fiction.

Zubrin shows that there is a possibility that Mars could be terraformed. The Martian regolith (the soil and rock near the surface) could indeed contain enough carbon dioxide to create an atmospheric surface pressure of 300 millibar were it all released. And we could trigger the process that would produce a "greenhouse effect." Release of "greenhouse" gases would raise the temperature of the surface, increasing the release of more greenhouse gases. We might be able to achieve a pressure of 100 millibar in only a couple of centuries. That is something a committed civilization can actually do.

Of course, to accomplish all this, we probably will need some of those advanced propulsion technologies that Zubrin discusses.

Going to Mars is serious business. Here is a quote from the author:

"I would say that failure to terraform Mars constitutes failure to live up to our human nature and a betrayal of our responsibility as members of the community of life itself."

I think that's a pretty clear statement. I agree with it.