He thinks stagnation is the only alternative to perpetual expansion into new frontiers. His attitude is expansionist and strongly pro-technology. His talk about “living off the land like Lewis and Clark” is unrealistic. Thus he has a vested interest in minimizing the difficulties. His book is an advertisement for Mars colonization, an appeal for the funding it would require. Even if that could be done successfully within a reasonable time, what would prevent it from eventually getting out of control? Might as well stay on Earth!The title of this book betrays the author’s bias. This book assumes that the Earth will always be available to support Mars missions, but the Earth itself is teetering on collapse.The terraforming of Mars would be accomplished by artificially-induced global warming. Despite its optimism that Mars can be terraformed, it convinced me that it will never be worth the cost to do so, even if the formidable engineering problems can be solved. This book offers solutions, mostly hi-tech and very expensive. It will never be profitable or cost effective. The zero gravity, the cosmic radiation, the dust storms, the hostile climate, the thinness of the atmosphere, the absence of liquid water, the human factors, etc., would require superhuman technological and human adaptations.
It will always be beyond the range of human habitability. The Red Planet fascinates me but I am convinced that humans will never settle it.
His discussion of terraforming, apparently so simple, contained at least one clanger that I - a complete non-scientist - noted: thickening the atmosphere with more CO2 will lead to surface water formation which will lead to water leaching CO2 from the atmosphere, a negative feedback loop interfering with all the happy positive feedback loops he describes.The book is worth reading.
He hung a lot on high temperature super conductors, which did not pan out. Zubrin is forever hammering away intensely at why such and such a way to do things is the absolutely the best, and without showing relative advantages and disadvantages of other options, and completely without humour.He probably should have steered away from future technology and from terraforming. He leaves one pretty convinced his proposed approach to reaching Mars will work.The downfall of the book is the dreadfully earnest tone - Mr. There is some engineering required, but isn't there always. He makes a good case for why and for how. This book - by a space scientist with some standing - describes a relatively affordable way to get astronauts to Mars.
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