The Case For Mars: The Plan To Settle The Red Planet And Why We Must (1997) - Plot & Excerpts
In using this book for research purposes, I've been delighted with the wealth of practical information it offers. The Case For Mars is a history lesson, a speculative thesis, a business proposal, and a visionary rally cry—all in one. The author lays his foundation on some of the more relevant origins of humanity's relationship with astronomy, astrophysics, and the planet Mars—managing accuracy without any petty attempts to pit science against religion or vice versa. The background he provided on Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe was actually more interesting than a lot of his introductory material, in this reader's opinion. “Geometry is one and eternal, a reflection out of the mind of God. That mankind shares in it is one of the reasons to call man an image of God.” --Johannes Kepler He also walks us through some of the more famous expeditions—dissecting the grand successes and horrendous disasters—and then paralleling them to how we ought to approach the exploration and eventual settlement of the red planet. His underlying point in all this is that the wisest (and most cost-effective) course of action would be to 'go native', taking with us only minimal provisions and focusing on all possible means of 'living off the land'. He goes so far as to assert: "If necessity is the mother of invention, Mars will provide the cradle.”The author seems to feel strongly that the search for life on Mars is of the utmost importance to any potential manned missions. But while I didn't feel like he made a strong enough case for that particular pet point, I did feel his arguments for regarding Mars as the next logical 'frontier' for humanity were more than enthralling. His economic, historical, and sociological points are sound—to the point where this reader, by the end of the book, has transitioned from being generally indifferent to a cautious-yet-excited proponent of Martian expeditions with the eventual goal of colonization, terraforming, etc.Zubrin's writing style is precise and comprehensive without being dry, and compelling without coming across as intellectually superior. In all, this is a fascinating read for anyone who is interested in Mars, the potential future of extra-terrestrial settlement, or how NASA works (or in some cases, doesn't work). Favorite quote:*“If the human mind can understand the universe, it means the human mind is fundamentally of the same order as the divine mind. If the human mind is of the same order as the divine mind, then everything that appeared rational to God as he constructed the universe, it's “geometry,” can also be made to appear rational to the human understanding, and so if we search and think hard enough, we can find a rational explanation and underpinning for everything. This is the fundamental proposition of science.” --Robert Zubrin
Definitively a book worth reading. I guess the best part is at the end of the book, where Zubrin presents the Frontier-hypothesis as a strong argument in favor of space exploration and space colonization: Without a frontier and a frontier mentality our human society petrifies and loses one of its main drivers for progress. This argument he presents in a convincing fashion.Also at the end of the book the author presents, in an appendix, the so-called panspermia hypothesis: The idea that life on Earth originates from some other location in space. This idea is based on very shaky ground, and presenting it here in this book is utterly unnecessary, and does not support the credibility of the work.The main content of the book is a more or less detailed description of a plan to send people to Mars. Zubrin argues several key elements of the plan: The duration, the kind of vehicle and engines needed, the work to be done on the Red Planet. Key elements in the Mars Direct plan are the limited budget required and the generation of rocket fuel on Mars itself, using the CO2 that is available in the Martian atmosphere. I must admit that this idea I did not support when starting the read, but now believe to be feasible.The writing style of the book is not very easy, in the sense that I consider it to be quite dry. I sometimes needed to press myself to continue reading. Also I do not consider the sometimes polemic style, with a clear and black-and-white distinction to what is right and what is plain stupid, to be necessary and to be supportive of the argument.But four stars all in all, because the topic is hot, and the amount of detail presented is really good and enlightening. A must-read for all interested in exciting technology.Folkertwww.excitingtechnology.net
What do You think about The Case For Mars: The Plan To Settle The Red Planet And Why We Must (1997)?
Robert Zubrin makes a strong case for human colonization of Mars and, surprising to me at least, that we already should've been there by now. JFK would be disappointed that we didn't take his model for going to the moon many, many moons ago and apply it to Mars. At least we've got rovers there, but politics, complacency and a stagnant sense of adventure and frontier spirit have set us back from experiencing Mars the way it should be experienced -- with our own hands in the red dirt, our own fingers taking selfies and our own eyes viewing Earth from millions of miles away. The technology is there or damn close enough, but our heart and courage seem to be in too short supply, especially over the last 20 years or so. As Zubrin points out, there's a very good chance that life on Earth began with a seed planted by Mars via a wayward rock a long, long time ago. But we'll never know for certain the true origin of life here on Earth and elsewhere in the universe until we go to Mars, drill into the dirt and find out.
—Jack Chaucer
The first 2/3 of this book are wonderful. Robert Zubrin has laid out a reasoned, believable plan for a manned mission to Mars operating on current technology and based on current understanding of space travel. This plan is revealed in steps with building enthusiasm that starts to shine out of the page, and it may not be possible to read this book without getting excited about future missions to Mars. As an engineer reading an engineer's book, I would have liked to see more detail, but I understand the unfortunate need to balance detail and appeal. That is a very small complaint, and hardly subtracts from the fun of mentally travelling to Mars.After the describing the first steps towards a long-term human presence on Mars, the book veers more into back-of-the-napkin sketches and calculations of permanent colonies, with some hand waving. Hand waving becomes frantic flapping as Zubrin speculates on a self-supporting Martian economy. Flapping reaches hummingbird speeds as the author breathlessly extols a thin sketch of a terraformed Mars that is a necessary part of human destiny.The idea of sending humans to Mars for a sustained mission using readily available technology and a rotating cast of astronauts, artfully and competently described in an engaging way: 5 starsFeverish evangelism of one version of the future of humanity, supported by few calculations, and a forecast of doom on any Mars-less future thrown in for good measure: 3 starsOverall: 4 stars
—James Watson
Después de leer este libro uno no puede dejar de preguntarse por qué la NASA no pone como prioridad visitar Marte. Hay varios planes actualmente, incluyendo el de Mars One, que incorpora personas con un boleto de una vía hacia el planeta rojo. Este libro demuestra por qué no es necesario que los astronautas mueran cuando llegan allá. Está basado en ciencia sólida, nada especulativa pues toda la tecnología para llegar a Marte existe actualmente. Hay algunos puntos que me hacen un poco de ruido, pero es el mejor plan. ¿Por qué no se le dio seguimiento?Como críticas a este libro, podría mencionar que hacia el final se alarga. Las posibilidades económicas de minería en el cinturón de asteroides y en el propio Marte son las partes más débiles del argumento, ya que caen en la especulación. Pero todo aquello que tiene que ver con la llegada y regreso a Marte, es sólido. Es una lectura altamente recomendable, si acaso un tanto técnica.
—Miguel Lozano
