A chance for Mars

On April 20, on the day of the work of our Russian crew at the Martian desert research station, we were visited with a welcoming visit by the President of the Martian Society and the past Aerospace engineer Robert Zubrin. After an interesting conversation, he gave each of us the copy of the new edition (2011) of the book “The Case for Mars”, written in co -authorship with space journalist Richard Wagner.

The book, written and published in the United States in 1996, diverged with a large circulation, laid the foundation for the creation of Martian society in 1998. And this is not by chance, because “The Case for Mars” contains a ready -made plan for the first manned expedition to Mars (called “Mars Direct”) and recommendations for the research and development of a red planet by a person. In 1996-1998, Zubrin and like-minded people were sure that humanity was already ready for flights to Mars more than 30 years before to flights to the moon. But their initiative did not find support. In the new edition of The Case for Mars, humanity is given a second chance. Despite some stagnation in the space industry, the past decade was marked by several successful automatic missions to Mars. Scientists and engineers have additional data on the Red Planet.

The book was translated into Russian at the beginning of the zero, but the case never reached the publication.

Perhaps it is possible to find the analogy of the book of Zubrin in modern Russian -speaking literature. Over the past 20 years, popular science books about astronautics (not textbooks that are rare, but published) have been published mainly in the style of memoirs. Exceptions include the book "Spare Planet" S.A. Krasnoselsky - about an attempt to assess the possibility of terraforming Venus, and not published by S.O. Khokhlova "Examination for Reasonability" - about the prospects for the colonization of Mars (is online).

It so happened that popular science books on astronomy, albeit in small circulations, but come out, but there is almost no cosmonautics. Perhaps the case is the absence of authors or motivation. Fortunately, thanks to such library network projects as “Cosmonautics Episodes” [1], P.V.'s books are available to readers Makovetsky, A.A. Sternfelda [2], V.I. Levantovsky, P.V. Kloshantseva et al.

Perhaps, in order to revive interest in astronautics, one should recall Soviet classics and begin to translate and publish modern Western space authors. Robert Zubrin’s book “The Case for Mars”, in my opinion, is worthy to pave the way for such a popular science literature to the Russian reader. By the way, it was successfully published in Poland with a circulation of 10 thousand copies.

What did Robert Zubrin and Richard Wagner write about?

This is a plan of how a person can expand his habitat, make a second land from Mars. Not immediately, but through sequential steps. The first step is Mars Direct, a program of manned research of the Red Planet.

The plan proposed by the author is scheduled for years. The missile capable of ensuring the reality of the mission, Zubrin called the ARes (the so-called rockets developed by the order of NASA, but closed by Obama along with the Constellation program, which provided for returning to the moon), the heir to the Saturn-5 program. Already in August 2020, the first unmanned ship can start to Mars, which carries on board the necessary reserves of equipment and supplies. In October 2022, according to the plan, a ship with a crew on board starts (Zubrin proposed to give him the name “Bigl”, in honor of the ship on which Charles Darwin made his round -the -world trip). After 180 days of flight, the first person will step to the surface of Mars.

The crews of the first expeditions were proposed to form four astronauts: two engineers and two scientists. As Zubrin put it, two Scotti and two “spokes” are needed, sending readers to the film Steading Path. But at the same time, mixed crews are supposed: two men and two women. According to the author, first of all, two things are required from the first missions - the maximum scientific result (such expensive projects should have a noticeable scientific output, so scientists are needed) and safety (engineers are needed). And the crew will be able to get other necessary skills and knowledge (piloting, medical support, etc.) during preparation for the expedition and in flight.

Even before the arrival of the astronauts on Mars in automatic mode, a small chemical plant will begin operation, which, using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the hydrogen brought on the ship, using the Sabatier and Electrolysis reaction will produce the required amount of fuel (methane) and oxidizing (oxidation) for land return. Thanks to this, the necessary mass of cargo, which will need to be delivered from the ground, is significantly reduced. At the same time, for security, the crew starts to Mars only after the automatic plant manufactures the necessary volume of fuel.

The book has proposals for all basic issues of activity on Mars: navigation, calendar, methods of movement, production of building materials, etc.

We can say that Zubrin in the book laid the technological basis for the development of the Red Planet. But he has not forgotten much more that so far is blocking the path to Mars. This is a political situation, and fears, and errors. For example, the author criticizes the “Mars through the Moon” strategy popular in the United States, indicating that the idea of ​​saving from the extraction and production of part of the components for expeditions on Mars on the Moon is erroneously. This strategy is ineffective in terms of ballistics. Yes, the moon needs to be investigated and used as a base for telescopes, but if we want to fly to Mars, we need to fly to Mars.

Another misconception, according to Zubrin, is about the need to prepare crews on the moon for subsequent expeditions to Mars. The difference in daytime and night temperatures, the presence of an atmosphere, the difference in gravity, the duration of the day - all this indicates that it is more reasonable to train the Marsonauts on Earth (in the Arctic and deserted areas).

Disaburns Zubrin and fears regarding the danger when flying to Mars and while working on the surface. After the reprint of the book, new data were obtained, indicating that the assessments of the radiation hazard in the interplanetary space and meteorite danger on Mars were previously high. Although, of course, the issue of protection against radiation is still one of the main ones.

The book will be interesting to many: space romantics, engineers, students and simply inquisitive readers - to all people for whom the history of mankind has not yet been completed and there is a place for a feat and a road to new borders.

Robert Zubrin himself wrote in the introduction: “The development of a man of Mars is not a task only for the next generations. This is our business. We believe that in our power to create a new world. Let's do it. "

1. Http://epizodsspace.no-ip.org

2. See Amnuel Pavel. Per Aspra Ad Astra.

TRV-hunger No. 30, 06/09/2009 http://trv-science.ru/2009/06/09/per-aspera-ad-Astra