The plan is outlined in detail in Zubrin's book, The Case for Mars. Basically, it calls for a series of such refueling stations and Earthling habitats until eventually a colony can be established. Taking that plan a few hundred steps further, Zubrin foresees a day when humans can begin "terraforming" Mars until it is as conducive to human life as Earth is.
As Zubrin sees it, the technology and equipment, with certain refinements like the device he is working on at his lab, are available now. Under his timetable, the first ship would land on Mars in 2005, to be followed by humans in 2008. Altogether, he says, a ten-year program of launches would cost $25 billion, "about the amount we spend on a medium-sized military procurement in one year."
Zubrin's plans netted a mixed response from his colleagues. "Great acceptance and great opposition," he says. Those opposed, he contends, either did not understand the technology, which he says is "gaslight era," or work in fields that would not be needed for Mars Direct, and therefore left behind. The ensuing controversy caused him to leave Lockheed Martin in January 1996 to form his own company.
NASA thought enough of the plan that it commissioned its own Mars Direct study, Zubrin notes. And though that study doubled the size and cost of what he believes is necessary, it was considerably below NASA's own 1989 estimate that $400 billion was needed. In fact, the agency awarded Zubrin a contract to develop the machine that could make it all possible--if not for Mars Direct, then for something closer to the Lockheed Martin version that will still need a means of using the Martian atmosphere to make fuel, water and oxygen.
Pathfinder, Zubrin says, was "lucky" to have landed safely on its airbags. Still, he thought its success was "really cool," if for no other reason than it gave the American public a glimpse of the next frontier.
"It's my belief that the true religion of the American people is the frontier," he says. "It's what we're about, it's in our blood. Unconsciously or consciously, I think we know that if we're not pushing the frontier, then we're less than we ought to be."
The people who want all exploration accomplished by robots are the same sort of people who told Columbus he would fall off the edge of the world. "We wouldn't be here if we weren't willing to take risks," Zubrin says. But there are also valid scientific reasons why man must go.
Pointing out the window to the foothills beyond Golden, Zubrin says, "Those hills have the richest collection of dinosaur fossils in the world. But you could drop a hundred Sojourners on them and you wouldn't find a single fossil for a hundred years. You need humans who can not only pick up the rock, but split it open and then recognize what they are seeing...especially if it's not a form of life we know. And life on Mars, if it exists, may be hundreds of feet underground, and that means drilling a hole.
"But beyond the fact that humans can do science better and quicker than robots, there's another benefit. I think the immediate one is that millions of kids would be inspired to pursue scientific educations. It's an invitation to adventure in a new world. The more people involved in science, the more man progresses--whether on Mars or here on Earth."
Zubrin, like his graph, is beginning to spike with enthusiasm. "The adaptations it would take to survive on Mars would make it a hothouse for scientific invention," he says. "Just as the labor shortage on the American frontier forced inventions that would change the world, so would necessity force the same thing on Mars."
Another benefit, one close to his heart and ego, would be the formation of a Martian nation. Settlers came to America intent on bringing the best of the Old World and leaving the worst behind, he says, "and despite the mistakes that were made, they succeeded in many ways. Those who settle Mars would have the same opportunity."
Man's stepping off Mother Earth will have ramifications that reach far beyond just money and technology. For example, Zubrin says, imagine what finding life on another planet would do to people who take the Bible literally?
When those Martian chroniclers look back, it won't matter if Bill Clinton was involved in the Whitewater scandal or if Newt Gingrich took money illegally. "They'll see what we did to give birth to their civilization," Zubrin says, "a civilization with its own customs, songs, poetry, even language...and that will be our legacy.
"I mean, think about it. Ferdinand and Isabella thought they were the most important people in the world when a bedraggled Italian with this crazy idea came begging for a few ships. But who is remembered now? Can you tell me who the queen after Isabella was? I can't, because she wasn't significant."
What about the argument that Earth's problems should be fixed before we head off for Mars? "I know how to get people to Mars. I don't know how to fix all of our troubles here," he responds. "But science has been the reason for the advancement of the human condition, and science is at its best on the frontier.
