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The Case For Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must is a nonfiction science book by Robert Zubrin, first published in 1996. Richard Wagner worked as a supporting author. Image File history File links This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by the publisher of the book. ...
Robert Zubrin is an aerospace engineer and author best known for his advocacy of manned Mars exploration. ...
The book details Zubrin's Mars Direct plan to make the first human landing on Mars. The plan focuses on keeping costs down by making use of automated systems and available materials on Mars to manufacture the return journey's fuel in situ. The book also reveals possible colony designs and weighs the prospects for a colony's material self-sufficiency and for the terraforming of Mars. Mars Direct is a proposal for a relatively low-cost manned mission to Mars with current rocket technology. ...
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ...
In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ...
Artists conception of a terraformed Mars in four stages of development. ...
The same plan is retold as a fictional account in Zubrin's First Landing. First Landing is a science fiction novel by Robert Zubrin that tells the story of the first manned space expedition to Mars. ...
Mars Direct - See main article Mars Direct
The Mars Direct plan was originally detailed by Zubrin and David Baker in 1990. The Case for Mars is, according to Zubrin, a comprehensive condensation for laymen of many years' work and research. Chapters one and four deal with Mars Direct most completely. Mars Direct is a proposal for a relatively low-cost manned mission to Mars with current rocket technology. ...
Colonization For Zubrin, the attractiveness of Mars Direct does not rest on a single cost-effective mission. He envisions a series of regular Martian missions with the ultimate goal of colonization, which he details in the seventh through ninth chapters. As initial explorers leave hab-structures on the planet, subsequent missions become easier to undertake.
Large subsurface, pressurized habitats would be the first step toward human settlement; the book suggests they can be built as Roman-style atriums underground with easily produced Martian brick. During and after this initial phase of habitat construction, hard-plastic radiation- and abrasion-resistant geodesic domes could be deployed on the surface for eventual habitation and crop growth. Nascent industry would begin using indigenous resources: the manufacture of plastics, ceramics and glass. Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area - City 1,500 km² (580 sq mi...
Radiation in physics is the process of emitting energy in the form of waves or particles. ...
In mathematics, a geodesic is a generalization of the notion of a straight line to curved spaces. Definition of geodesic depends on the type of curved space. If the space carries a natural metric then geodesics are defined to be (locally) the shortest path between points on the space. ...
The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. ...
Fixed Partial Denture, or Bridge The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεÏαμικός (keramikos). ...
Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this sphere from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ...
The larger work of terraforming requires an initial phase of global warming to release atmosphere from the regolith and to create a water-cycle. Three methods of global warming are described in the work and, Zubrin suggests, are probably best deployed in tandem: orbital mirrors to heat the surface; factories on the surface to pump halocarbons into the atmosphere; and the seeding of bacteria which can metabolize water, nitrogen and carbon to produce ammonia and methane (these would aid in global warming). While the work of warming Mars is on-going, true colonization can begin. Artists conception of a terraformed Mars in four stages of development. ...
Global mean surface temperatures 1856 to 2005 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades. ...
Regolith (Greek: blanket rock) is a layer of loose, heterogeneous material covering solid rock. ...
In organic chemistry, a halocarbon is a compound containing carbon and one or more halogens. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ...
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3. ...
Methane is a significant and plentiful fuel which is the principal component of natural gas. ...
The Case for Mars acknowledges that any Martian colony will be partially Earth-dependent for centuries. However, it suggests that Mars may be a profitable place for two reasons. First, it may contain concentrated supplies of metals of equal or greater value to silver which have not been subjected to millennia of human scavenging and may be sold on Earth for profit. Secondly, the concentration of deuterium — an extremely expensive but essential fuel for the nuclear power industry — is five times greater on Mars. Humans emigrating to Mars thus have an assured industry and the planet will be a magnet for settlers as wage costs will be high. The book asserts that “the labor shortage that will prevail on Mars will drive Martian civilization toward both technological and social advances.” This is not without precedent; for example, the severe labor shortage following the Black Death in the 14th century led to marked improvements in the productivity of farming practices, out of necessity (which is proverbially the mother of invention). For alternative meanings see metal (disambiguation). ...
General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Atomic mass 107. ...
Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is a stable isotope of hydrogen with a natural abundance in the oceans of planet Earth of approximately one atom in 6500 of hydrogen (~154 PPM). ...
Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411). ...
Wider considerations While detailing the exploration and colonization, The Case for Mars also addresses a number of attendant scientific and political factors.
Risks confronted The fifth chapter analyzes various risks that putatively rule out a long-term human presence on Mars. Zubrin dismisses the idea that radiation and zero-gravity are unduly hazardous. Cancer rates do increase for astronauts who have spent extensive time in space, but only marginally. Similarly, while zero-gravity presents challenges, “near total recovery of musculature and immune system occurs after reentry and reconditioning to a one-gravity environment.” Back-contamination — humans acquiring and spreading Martian viruses — is described as "just plain nuts", because there are no host organisms on Mars for disease organisms to have evolved. Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ...
Back-contamination is the informal but widely-employed name for the introduction of microbial extraterrestrial organisms into Earths biosphere. ...
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In the same chapter, Zubrin decisively rejects suggestions that the Moon should be used as waypoint to Mars or as a training area. It is ultimately much easier to journey to Mars from low Earth orbit than from the moon and using the latter as a staging point is a pointless diversion of resources. While the Moon may superficially appear a good place to perfect Mars exploration and habitation techniques, the two bodies are radically different. The moon has no atmosphere, no analogous geology and a much greater temperature range and rotational period. Antarctica or desert areas of Earth provide much better training grounds at lesser cost. Adjective lunar Bulk silicate composition (estimated wt%) SiO2 44. ...
World geologic provinces Oceanic crust 0-20 Ma 20-65 Ma >65 Ma Geologic provinces Shield Platform Orogen Basin Large igneous province Extended crust Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason))[1] is the science and study of the solid matter of a celestial body, its composition...
Political considerations In the third and tenth chapters, The Case for Mars addresses the politics and costs of the ideas described. The work is decidedly U.S.-centric in these areas, arguing with more than a little sentimentality that the colonization of Mars is a logical extension of the settlement of North America and a still present frontier mentality. He also sees a frontier society as potentially providing opportunities for innovation and social experimentation. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...
Zubrin suggests three models to provide the will and capital to drive Mars exploration forward: the J.F.K. model, in which a far-sighted U.S. leader provides the funding and mobilizes national public opinion around the idea; the Sagan model, in which international co-operation is the driving force; and the Gingrich approach, which emphasizes incentives and even prizes for private sector actors who take on research and development tasks. In keeping with the third idea, Zubrin describes twelve challenges that tackle various aspects of the exploration program. A monetary prize — from five hundred million to twenty billion dollars — is offered to companies who successfully complete the challenges. For other persons named John Kennedy, see John Kennedy (disambiguation). ...
Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrobiologist, and highly successful science popularizer. ...
Newton Leroy Gingrich (born 17 June 1943) served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. ...
The prize-based approach to hardware development has emerged within the private aeronautics community, though not yet on the scale envisioned by Zubrin. Ventures such as the Ansari X-Prize and Robert Bigelow's America's Space Prize seek low-cost spaceflight development through private enterprise, and crucially, for the attainment of very specific predetermined goals in order to win the prizes. The X prize logo shows a stylised letter X representing a spacecraft trajectory and containing a starfield. ...
The Americas Space Prize Logo Americas Space Prize is a US$50 million orbital spaceflight competition established and funded by hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow. ...
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