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.

Now with the advent of a revolutionary new plan, all this has changed. Leading space exploration authority Robert Zubrin has crafted a daring new blueprint, Mars Direct, presented here with illustrations, photographs, and engaging anecdotes.

The Case for Mars is not a vision for the far future or one that will cost us impossible billions. It explains step-by-step how we can use present-day technology to send humans to Mars within ten years; actually produce fuel and oxygen on the planet's surface with Martian natural resources; how we can build bases and settlements; and how we can one day "terraform" Mars—a process that can alter the atmosphere of planets and pave the way for sustainable life.

Later in the book Dr Zubrin explains that we will start colonizing Mars once a region is chosen. Things like carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen which are very useful for human colonization are very common on Mars. Also there are plenty of chemical substances in the soil of Mars which can be used to make metals, or even nuclear reactors for the energy supplies. Compare to the moon, Mars has more useful resources for human colonization, and that's one of the reason why we should go to Mars, not the moon.

Finally Dr Zubrin said in the far future we may "terraform" Mars. He said we can do this by putting a gigantic mirror in the orbit round Mars. When it reflects the sunlight onto the polar cap, the polar cap will melt and release carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere, which will then warm the planet up. Or if we have a significant industrial capability on Mars we can produce artificial greenhouse gas like CFC. I don't think it is science fiction because I believe we can do this, and if we terraform Mars, it will become our second home.

The reason why our technology gets better is because we have plenty of resources on Earth, but once it becomes insufficient the result will be war and extinction of human being. The only way to avoid this is to search for other resources by exploring space, and of course, Mars is going to be a perfect place.


A Stirring and Well-Thought Out Plan for Colonization   July 30, 1998
 21 out of 21 found this review helpful

Robert Zubrin is a long-time advocate of space colonization and a former CEO of the National Space Society. He knows what he's talking about. "The Case for Mars" sets out the technological, economic, and -- most intriguingly -- political reasons for expanding human civilization off this planet. Zubrin's plans for terraforming Mars into a near-earthlike climate are the part of the book that has gotten the most attention. But his political rationale for Mars settlement -- that ultimately, freedom requires a frontier and the values that a frontier cultivates -- are the most inspirational part of the book from my perspective. An absolute must-read for space, or freedom, enthusiasts.


Very convincing!   April 4, 1999
 20 out of 21 found this review helpful

As an aerospace engineering student highly interested in space exploration (and wishing to go professional with this also) , I really found this book to be a real treat. Definitely was inspiring coming from an author that wishes to advance mankind technologically into the realm of space.. A view that I have concurred with ever since I was in grade school. The book was not just some bored rocket engineer's (or scientist's) science fiction memo, I found his plan extremely plausible and do-able. I especially liked the historical allusions he made throughout the account proving that the grand majority of the technologies used in Mars Direct have been done before in the past(and many for thousands of years). If they have done before, there is no reason why they can not be done again. I loved the clear explanation of his plan. He did not go into too much math , but he gave a clear picture in my mind the concepts involved. Zubrin is very knowledgable and while I was reading this book I knew that what he was saying was well-founded. A MUST READ for those interested in space exploration, astronomy, or aerospace engineering!


To Mars? Yes, but by this route?   August 29, 2000
 16 out of 20 found this review helpful

Hmmm... this is a difficult one to review.

This book is basically an advertisement for the author's "Mars Direct" scheme for manned mars missions.

On the one hand I laud Zubrin for all the time and effort he has placed into thinking up his "Mars Direct" plan for manned mars missions. The idea is certainly appealing and contians much that had never been presented before. Most interesting is his idea to live off of the land to minimize the need for bringing unneeded supplies and fuel.

On the other hand, it is apparent on first inspection that there are no shortage of technical shortcomings for the Mars Direct plan despite it's advantages. Much (if not all) of the hardware that would be required for Zubrin's plan does not exist today or exits in a format that is so far from practical application that for all intents and purposes it cannot yet be applied to this idea. Zubrin seems to assume that everything will work smoothly and that one mission will just flow smoothly into another. Both the US and Soviet space programs have clearly shown that hardware mishaps occur, usually with disastrous results. Zubrin's dependence on unmanned vehicles to go on ahead in advance and land safely as well as on target time after time is very unrealistic. If these unmanned vehicles malfunctioned or crashed everything is on hold for months or years until the problem can be fixed. The text does not even mention possible problems with the Mars Direct approach, a serious editorial oversight.

I don't mean to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Zubrin means well, and if more of us gave this problem the amount of effort he has, we would have been on mars 20 years ago. Read this book for it's novel ideas, but don't buy into them hook, line, and sinker.


Compelling   April 21, 2001
 15 out of 15 found this review helpful

In his excellent "The Case for Mars", Robert Zubrin makes a thorough, thoughtful argument about the need for the exploration of Mars. In a very well rounded, easy to read work, he lays out both the scientific and humanistic reasons for a trip to the Red Planet. While his science is excellent (he is a former Lockheed engineer), what is most compelling about this book is what Zubrin sees as the primary reason for Mars exploration: it is there. He correctly asserts that humans are at their most creative and productive when they pit themselves against a major challenge. He sees the exploration and colonization of Mars as a means of injecting the human race with fresh vitality and drive. After reading this excellent book, I'm inclined to agree.