The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must (Paperback)

by Robert Zubrin (Author), Richard Wagner (Author), Arthur C. Clarke (Foreword) "The planet Mars is a world of breathtaking scenery, with spectacular mountains three times as tall as Mount Everest, canyons three times as deep and..." (more)
Key Phrases: planetary volatile inventory, regolith temperature, conjunction mission, United States, Martin Marietta, Mars Semi-Direct (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
"For our generation and many that will follow, Mars is the New World," writes Zubrin. This book went to press serendipitously, just as NASA was making its startling if heavily-qualified announcement that simple life may have once existed on the fourth rock from the sun. Zubrin doesn't spend an enormous amount of time arguing why Mars exploration is desirable -- we all want astronauts to go there, don't we? -- but rather devotes the bulk of this book explaining how it can happen on a sensible, bare-bones budget of $20-30 billion and a "travel light and live off the land" philosophy. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Human settlement on Mars need not await the development of gigantic interplanetary spaceships, anti-matter propulsion systems or orbiting space bases, assert the authors of this exciting, visionary report. Instead, the "Mars Direct" plan?developed in 1990 by astronautical engineer Zubrin, and presented to NASA, where it has won supporters?calls for sending a crew and their artificial habitat directly to Mars via the upper stage of the same booster rocket that lifted them to Earth orbit. Then the crew will live off the land, growing greenhouse crops, tapping subsurface groundwater, manufacturing useful materials, constructing plastic domes and brick structures the size of shopping malls. Geothermal power would be tapped from hot regions near once-active volcanoes. Zubrin, senior engineer at Martin Marietta, and Wagner, a former editor of Ad Astra, weaken their case by arguing that a nascent human civilization on Mars will revive Earth's frontier spirit and American democracy, saving Western civilization from technological stagnation. Nevertheless, their detailed blueprint makes a fast-track mission to Mars?with an estimated price tag of $20-$30 billion?seem remarkably doable.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1st Touchstone Ed edition (November 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684835509
• ISBN-13: 978-0684835501
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #103,637 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stirring and Well-Thought Out Plan for Colonization, July 30, 1998

By	Glenn H. Reynolds "Instapundit" (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very convincing!, April 4, 1999

By A Customer

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!

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forceful, clear, thoughtfully argued., June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Case for Mars (Hardcover)

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.