Book Review: The Case for Mars

The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must by Robert Zubrin was inspiring. While this is my first non-fiction Mars read, I can compare it to many other non-fiction science books. And it's been years that I learned so much about something so interesting.

It's no exaggeration to say that reading this book propelled me to do all this work on Martian Agora. While I continue to do other research, the simplicity and reality of Robert Zubrin's "Mars Direct" plan really spoke to me.

Who should read this book?

If you think we are held back from sending humans to Mars for any engineering or scientific reason, you must read this book.

The Good

After reading this book I sense I have the tools to argue for a manned mission to Mars using our current technology. Zubrin thoroughly covers the entire mission: preparation, launch, transit, descent, surface missions, ascent, and return home. In his chapter "killing the dragons, avoiding the sirens" he addresses every fear: radiation, zero gravity, human factors like isolation and insanity, dust storms, Martian germs destroying Earth, and missions from the Moon to Mars. You will be educated and persuaded.

Probably the best aspect of the book is the mission philosophy. Zubrin argues against hauling impossibly large reserves of cargo to Mars. Instead, we have the science to know what's on Mars, so lets use it. The details are interesting and accessible.

The Bad

While Zubrin has support from fellow aerospace engineers and has given talks on Mars at NASA conferences and Lockheed Martin, this book may have benefited by including a chapter or two written by his critics. Perhaps, if we're lucky, by NASA administrators who chose other projects. While the book proved to me that a manned mission to Mars is not only realistic but orders of magnitude cheaper than I realized, my experience changed my thinking so much that I can't help but feel sceptical. Nevertheless, since reading I have looked long and hard online and found no serious problems with this "Mars Direct" plan.

Finally, while Zubrin is very inspiring and optimistic about future missions to Mars, his pessimism towards politics and the administration at NASA is truly infectious. He describes very convincingly how political will has crippled these incredible exploration plans. This reminded me of becoming an adult. You may not want to realize certain things about the world, but then you do. I hope that some of the other Mars books I will soon read will offer refreshment.

Summary

This book is like a great science fiction book about starting a colony on a new world - except it's not science fiction at all. It is an exciting read because the science is real and the adventure is imminent. Mars is just patiently waiting for humanity to get our shit together.