The Case for Mars

As long as Mr. Zubrin talks about the mechanics of getting to Mars cheaply through his proposed Mars Direct plan, the book was very interesting. In some cases I just didn't have the math to follow some of his proof, but the main idea is that we can get to Mars relatively cheaply by doing two things: not build all the space infrastructure (space stations, moon base etc.), just go to Mars directly. Then, rather than bring everything we need to Mars, use resources found on Mars to reduce costs. He mainly wants to use the carbon dioxide in Mars's atmosphere to produce rocket fuel which would make a rocket going to Mars much lighter and therefore cheaper. He goes into more detail about using economical orbits, the advantages staying on Mars longer than most Mars missions propose. He also talks a lot about how to build on what we do to get to Mars to eventually establish permanent residency. I'm a space nut and would love for us to go to other planets. This doesn't seem likely in my lifetime unless we were to adopt a lot of Mr. Zubrin's and colleagues Mars Direct plan. Some of his reasons for going to Mars aren't very convincing, unless you already kind of want to go to Mars. Still I had fun reading it and I may get more involved in one or more of the organizations he suggests supporting to help make a Mars mission happen.