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Robert Zubrin (; born April 9, 1952) is an American
aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
, author, and advocate for
human exploration of Mars The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Some have also considered exploring the Martian moons of Phobos and Deim ...
. He and his colleague at
Martin Marietta The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. History Martin Mari ...
, David Baker, were the driving force behind
Mars Direct Mars Direct is a proposal for a human mission to Mars which purports to be both cost-effective and possible with current technology. It was originally detailed in a research paper by Martin Marietta engineers Robert Zubrin and David Baker in 1990 ...
, a proposal in a 1990 research paper intended to produce significant reductions in the cost and complexity of such a mission. The key idea was to use the
Martian atmosphere The atmosphere of Mars is the layer of gases surrounding Mars. It is primarily composed of carbon dioxide (95%), molecular nitrogen (2.8%), and argon (2%). It also contains trace levels of water vapor, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and no ...
to produce oxygen, water, and
rocket propellant Rocket propellant is the reaction mass of a rocket. This reaction mass is ejected at the highest achievable velocity from a rocket engine A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propuls ...
for the surface stay and return journey. A modified version of the plan was subsequently adopted by
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 ...
as their "design reference mission". He questions the delay and cost-to-benefit ratio of first establishing a base or outpost on an asteroid or another Apollo program-like return to the Moon, as neither would be able to provide all of its own oxygen, water, or energy; these resources are producible on Mars, and he expects people would be there thereafter. Disappointed with the lack of interest from government in
Mars exploration The planet Mars has been explored remotely by spacecraft. Probes sent from Earth, beginning in the late 20th century, have yielded a large increase in knowledge about the Martian system, focused primarily on understanding its geology and habit ...
and after the success of his book ''
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 ...
'' (1996), as well as leadership experience at the
National Space Society The National Space Society (NSS) is an American international nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. It is a member of the Independent Charities of America and an annual participant in the Combi ...
, Zubrin established 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 ...
in 1998. This is an international organization advocating a
human mission to Mars The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Some have also considered exploring the Martian moons of Phobos and Deimos. ...
as a goal, by private funding if possible.


Early life and education

Zubrin was born in New York City's
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
borough on April 9, 1952. His father was descended from Russian
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrants.


Qualifications and professional career

Zubrin was awarded his first patent at age 20 in 1972 for Three Player Chess. Zubrin holds a B.A. in
Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
from the
University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...
(1974); he was a science teacher for 7 years before becoming an engineer. He earned a M.S. in
Nuclear Engineering Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of breaking down atomic nuclei ( fission) or of combining atomic nuclei (fusion), or with the application of other sub-atomic processes based on the principles of n ...
(1984), a M.S. in
Aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
and
Astronautics Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the theory and practice of travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science its overarching field. The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astronaut ...
(1986), and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering (1992) — all from the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
. He has developed a number of concepts for
space propulsion Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. In-space propulsion exclusively deals with propulsion systems used in the vacuum of space and should not be confused with space launch or atmospheric e ...
and exploration, and is the author of over 200 technical and non-technical papers and several books. He is also President of both 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 ...
and Pioneer Astronautics, a private company that does research and development on innovative aerospace technologies. Zubrin is the co-inventor on a U.S. design patent and a U.S. utility patent on a hybrid rocket/airplane, and on a U.S. utility patent on an oxygen supply system (see links below). Zubrin's inventions include the
nuclear salt-water rocket A nuclear salt-water rocket (NSWR) is a theoretical type of nuclear thermal rocket which was designed by Robert Zubrin. In place of traditional chemical propellant, such as that in a chemical rocket, the rocket would be fueled by salts of pluton ...
and co-inventor (with Dana Andrews) of the
magnetic sail A magnetic sail is a proposed method of spacecraft propulsion that uses a static magnetic field to deflect a plasma wind of charged particles radiated by the Sun or a Star thereby transferring momentum to accelerate or decelerate a spacecraft. ...
. Zubrin is fellow at
Center for Security Policy The Center for Security Policy (CSP) is a US far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The organization's founder and current president is Frank Gaffney Jr. who is known for promoting falsehoods about former U.S. President B ...
. During his professional career, Zubrin was a member of
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
's scenario development team charged with developing strategies for
space exploration Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by robotic spacec ...
. He was also "a senior engineer with the Martin Marietta Astronautics company, working as one of its leaders in development of advanced concepts for interplanetary missions". During his time at Martin Marietta, he drafted ideas for a potential
single-stage-to-orbit A single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle reaches orbit from the surface of a body using only propellants and fluids and without expending tanks, engines, or other major hardware. The term usually, but not exclusively, refers to reusable vehicles ...
spacecraft, and developed the Black Colt. However, he would eventually leave Martin Marietta to co-form Pioneer Rocketplane with Mitchell Burnside Clapp, an aerospace engineer from the
US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
, due to a perceived lack of interest in reducing launch costs at larger aerospace firms. In his book, ''Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization'', Zubrin would write about how both large aerospace firms, and the
US Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
, would fail to reduce the costs of spaceflight. In 1998, Zubrin founded the Mars Society, and in the following years, was able to attract large amounts of public interest to potential human colonisation on Mars. The work of the Mars Society was successful enough as to encourage the US Government to not cut funding for several Mars
rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...
missions.


Pioneer Energy

In 2008, Zubrin founded Pioneer Energy, a research and development firm headquartered in
Lakewood, Colorado The City of Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Col ...
. The company's focus is to develop mobile
Enhanced Oil Recovery Enhanced oil recovery (abbreviated EOR), also called tertiary recovery, is the extraction of crude oil from an oil field that cannot be extracted otherwise. EOR can extract 30% to 60% or more of a reservoir's oil, compared to 20% to 40% using ...
(EOR) systems that can enable CO2-based EOR for both small and large oil producers in the United States. The company has also developed a number of new processes for manufacturing synthetic fuels.


The ethics of terraforming

Dr. Zubrin is known as an advocate of a moderately
anthropocentric Anthropocentrism (; ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity in the universe. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. ...
position in the ethics of
terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...
. Discussions of the ethics of
terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...
often make reference to a series of public debates Zubrin has held with his friend Christopher McKay, who advocates a moderately biocentric position on the ethics of terraforming. For example, a written account of some of these debates is available in ''On to Mars: Colonizing a New World'', as a joint article, "Do indigenous Martian bacteria have precedence over human exploration?" (pp. 177–182)


Cultural references

An aged Robert Zubrin also appears as a background character in ''The Martian Race'' (1999) by
Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reason ...
, a science fiction novel depicting early human explorers on Mars in the very near future. Benford, who is also an astrophysicist, is a longtime member of both the board of directors and the steering committee of the Mars Society. Zubrin was featured in a 2007
CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...
documentary special, ''The Passionate Eye'', titled "The Mars Underground". The songwriter and musician
Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Fo ...
(alias Black Francis of the Pixies) penned an homage to Zubrin, "Robert Onion", on the album ''
Dog in the Sand ''Dog in the Sand'' is Frank Black's third album with backing group the Catholics. It was released in 2001 by Cooking Vinyl in Europe and What Are Records? in the United States, and was produced by Nick Vincent. The album was generally met wit ...
''. The lyrics are in the form of an
acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...
, spelling "Robert The Case for Mars Zubrin". In 2010 Robert Zubrin was featured in the Symphony of Science video "The Case for Mars" along with
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
, Brian Cox, and
Penelope Boston Penelope J. Boston is a speleologist. She is associate director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and founder and director of the Cave and Karst Studies Program at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Techno ...
. The fictional character Dr. Zachary Walzer in the 2010–2011 independent
VODO VODO is an online media distributor offering films, books, games and music under pay-what-you-want pricing models. Founded by film director Jamie King, VODO has recently focused on bundle offers, bringing together a variety of creators under the ...
series ''
Pioneer One ''Pioneer One'' is a 2010 American web series produced by Josh Bernhard and Bracey Smith. It was funded purely through donations, and is the first series created for and released on BitTorrent networks. Background ''Pioneer One'' is a seria ...
'' was inspired by Zubrin. In 2016, Zubrin was one of several scientists and engineers interviewed in the
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
miniseries ''
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 ...
''.


Bibliography


Books

* '' The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must'' (1996) * '' Islands in the Sky: Bold New Ideas for Colonizing Space'' (1996), co-edited with Stanley Schmidt. * ''From Imagination to Reality: Mars Exploration Studies of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society : Precursors and Early Piloted Exploration Missions'' (1997). * ''From Imagination to Reality: Mars Exploration Studies of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society : Base Building, Colonization and Terraformation'' (1997). * ''Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization'' (1999). * ''Proceedings of the Founding Convention of the Mars Society'' (1999), co-edited with Maggie Zubrin. * ''Mars On Earth: The Adventures of Space Pioneers in the High Arctic'' (2003). * '' First Landing'' (2001). * ''On to Mars: Colonizing a New World'' (2002
Apogee Books {{Infobox publisher , image = , parent = Collector's Guide Publishing , status = , founded = 1998 , founder = Robert Godwin , successor = , country = Canada , headquarters = Burlington, Ontario , di ...
), co-edited with Frank Crossman. * ''The Holy Land'' (2003). * ''Benedict Arnold: A Drama of the American Revolution in Five Acts'' (2005). * ''On to Mars 2: Exploring and Settling a New World'' (2005
Apogee Books {{Infobox publisher , image = , parent = Collector's Guide Publishing , status = , founded = 1998 , founder = Robert Godwin , successor = , country = Canada , headquarters = Burlington, Ontario , di ...
), co-edited with Frank Crossman. * '' Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil'' (2007). *''How to Live on Mars'' (2008). *''Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism'' (2011). *''Mars Direct: Space Exploration, the Red Planet, and the Human Future'' (2013). * ''The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility'' Prometheus Books (2019)


Articles

* 1991, Mars Direct: A Simple, Robust, and Cost Effective Architecture for the Space Exploration Initiative, ''AIAA Journal'' * 2004, Getting Space Exploration Right, '' The New Atlantis'' * 2006, An Energy Revolution, ''
The American Enterprise ''The American Enterprise'' (''TAE'') was a public policy magazine published by the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. Its editorial stance was politically conservative, generally advocating free-market economics and a neoconservat ...
'' * 2007, The Hydrogen Hoax, '' The New Atlantis'' *


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zubrin, Robert 1952 births Living people 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists American aerospace engineers American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American nuclear engineers American people of Russian-Jewish descent American satirists American science fiction writers American science writers Analog Science Fiction and Fact people Exploration of Mars Lockheed Martin people Mars One Mars Society Space advocates University of Washington College of Engineering alumni