''First Landing'' is a 2002

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by

Robert Zubrin Robert Zubrin (; born April 9, 1952) is an American aerospace engineer, author, and advocate for human exploration of Mars. He and his colleague at Martin Marietta, David Baker, were the driving force behind Mars Direct, a proposal in a 1990 res ...

that tells the story of the first crewed space expedition to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

. Zubrin is the head of the

Mars Society The Mars Society is a nonprofit organization that advocates for human Mars exploration and colonization, founded by Robert Zubrin in 1998. It is based on Zubrin's Mars Direct plan, which aims to make human mission to Mars as lightweight and fe ...

, an organization lobbying the real world

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

to send astronauts to Mars. The plan used to accomplish their mission in the book is the same one advocated by his group. In the novel, the explorers discover

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

l life on Mars and are abandoned due to political circumstances, and must fend for themselves if they want to return to Earth, thus highlighting many of the more robust features of Zubrin's plan for Mars. Zubrin also wrote ''

The Case for Mars ''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, and revised and updated in 2011. The book details Zubrin's Mars Direct plan to make the first human ...

'', a detailed nonfiction explanation of the same plan.

Editions

* (

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...

, 2002) * (

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

, 2002)

References

{{Robert Zubrin 2002 American novels 2002 science fiction novels Books by Robert Zubrin Novels set on Mars Space exploration novels Novels about extraterrestrial life Hard science fiction