The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility

Back in 1996, Zubrin changed the way people saw space with The Case for Mars and his Mars Direct plan. NASA even based its mission on Mars Direct, and launched an impressive array of probes to Mars and throughout the Solar System. The latter has continued, but NASA reverted to its old ways in manned spaceflight — a new direction every time a new President is elected. A new "plan" guaranteed to go no where.Since Zubrin's first book there has been a change — the emergence of space companies operating outside the old government-space complex. Private spaceflight has finally arrived and the final frontier Zubrin has advocated for years finally has its door open again. The Moon and Mars are no longer so distant.Much of the Case for Space will be familiar to readers of Zubrin's other book, Entering Space. In fact, much of this book is simply an updated edition of that book. Part 1 of the book shows how we can conquer space; part 2 gives reasons why we must. There is much he writes here that all Earth citizens should carefully consider.One reason is for knowledge, which Zubrin predicates on large part around finding life in the universe. Like many, he believes there must be life because there are an uncountable amount of worlds out there. However, this "statistical fallacy" of what "must be" must give way to physics. Physics severely limits where life may exist, even basic life, to say nothing of advanced life. We can eliminate many — if not most of these worlds — from contention. Even these planets found in "habitable zones" aren't as promising as the term portrays. Being in the zone is not nearly enough. There are hundreds of narrow parameters that must be met (see Improbable Planet by Hugh Ross, The Privileged Planet by Guillermo Gonzalez). Should we feel alone and depressed because of this?No, and in fact, astronomy and spaceflight has answered many of the questions Zubrin poses in Chapter 9 on how it all started and the reasons for how it works the way it does. Instead of being just a "pale blue dot" alone randomly in a universe, it turns out that the universe is exactly as it must be for Earth to be as it is. That is, the universe was designed for us to be here. No other discovery is more impactful and thought provoking, and exploring the cosmos brought us there (see Why the Universe Is the Way It Is and The Creator and the Cosmos, both by Hugh Ross).Zubrin talks about fine-tuning, then derides design, only to muse on a possible "intelligence...responsible for the propagation and self-perfection" of the universe. He sees it, but won't let himself follow the evidence. Why? Because his naturalistic worldview - a universe driven by chance - says you must ignore the evidence and interpret everything through unguided forces - even if they don't exist. Zubrin admits as much in referring to evolution as being a "success" proving this. It has done no such thing even though the evangelists of naturalism tell us otherwise. Scientists have been lining up to speak of natural selection's failure to produce complexity and diverse life (Undeniable by Douglas Axe, Darwin Devolves by Behe, Foresight by Marcos N. Eberlin, Heretic by Matti Leisola, Origins of Life by Fuz Rana among others). We must continue to explore space for knowledge, but must cut the beliefs that cripple the wonder and discovery right in front us.And we must explore to protect us (from asteroids), to thrive (fusion and mineral resources), for freedom and to restore the promise of Apollo that was abandoned fifty years ago. The promise of a new time in human history. A time when we become a spacefaring civilization.

Probably the great strength of this book is that it covers a surprisingly wide range of subjects, and brings them together in one "case." However, there were a few places where I thought the evidence was still a little lacking. The biggest of these was probably the gravity issue, which never really was dealt with. Mars has only about 38% of Earth's gravity. I don't know how that is going to be dealt with. In fact, Zubrin seems to think astronauts can go to Mars without simulated gravity (by a rotating craft), land there, get acclimated, and carry out a mission successfully. That seems a highly dubious proposition to me. And even with simulated gravity in transit, in the long term, I don't know people are going to live out full lives, and even give birth to children and raise them there, without catastrophic results. All other problems seem solvable, especially in the long run, with the development of a supporting infrastructure that will eliminate the need to haul up lots of stuff from Earth or bring it back. Even radiation has effective solutions—partial but effective things in the short term, complete solution through terraforming in the longer term. But the gravity issue could be a total show-stopper.There are some other claims that, while they are very interesting, and some of which are not often raised, seem dubious. The idea that technological progress is slowing down is arguable. I don't know how you measure such things, but I keep thinking that early technologies looked a lot more impressive just because there was so little there to start with. Also: The idea that groups of people need isolation by distance in order to become more culturally diverse, again is arguable. Does isolation foster diversity, or does easy and quick communication spur innovation? Are both things, in some sense, true?I don't want to criticize any book just because it isn't about what I wanted it to be about, but I did get left feeling a little unsatisfied in some important areas.

I hope this book is published in Russian and Chinese, Dr Zubrin is a visionary, much of what he talks about could be achievable if nations cooperate, a thought provoking read.

As in the Case for Mars Zubrin opens our eyes to the practical details of how to actually get on and do these things, and why it isn't as hard or as expensive as you think. Everything is explained, quantified, and justified perfectly.

AMAZING BOOK ON SPACE FLIGHT.

Very interesting book by a passionate author. Highly recommended

The book was slightly damaged when we received it which was a real disappointment as it was a Christmas present. The book arrived when it was scheduled to - thank you.