Synopsis
Scientists have speculated that Mars could be transformed into an environment that supports human life and serves as a jumping-off point to explore the further reaches of our galaxy. Until recently this sort of musing was just that - a big, expensive fantasy that, according to NASA, would cost $500 billion. Dr Robert Zubrin saw it differently. As described in this book, he has devised a plan for travel to Mars and eventual settlement which he argues could be realized for a tenth of the cost and in a third of the time envisaged by NASA. Using lessons gleaned from successful voyages of exploration in the past, Zubrin's plan includes details of how it will be possible to produce the fuel for a return to Earth by using resources in the Martian environment, and how it will be possible to do away with the enormously costly space stations previously considered essential. The book explains Zubrin's view of how man will get to Mars in the near future, and why it is necessary to do so. The concept of the frontier is seen as a necessary part of man's social, psychological, scientific and artistic development. Zubrin believes that the most revolutionary ideas are often borne away from mainstream culture, and that at the new Martian frontier such innovations would be generated by necessity.
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Présentation de l'éditeur
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.
Biographie de l'auteur
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.
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