It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceitsthan this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
-Carl Sagan
The Case for Mars: Robert Zubrin to speak at Carolina

Robert Zubrin in Utah at the Mars Desert Research Station. Credit: The Mars Society

Lecture title: The Case for Mars
Speaker: Dr. Robert Zubrin
Location: Morehead Planetarium, Star Theatre
Date: April 18th, 2002
Time: 7 pm
Cost: Free to the public.
Other details: An open mike Q&A session will follow Zubrin's talk. Lecture is not catered towards rocket scientists, but rather people of all ages and education levels.

At 7 pm on April 18th in the Morehead Planetarium Star Theatre, SpaceTalk proudly welcomes Dr. Robert Zubrin, the world's leading advocate for the manned exploration of Mars. Dr. Zubrin will present THE CASE FOR MARS, a thought provoking and entertaining lecture on the plan to explore and settle the red planet.

Since the beginning of human history Mars has been an alluring dream, the stuff of legends, gods and mystery. The planet most like ours, it has still been thought impossible to reach, let alone explore and inhabit. Now with the advent of a revolutionary new plan, all this has changed. Robert Zubrin has crafted a daring new blueprint, Mars Direct, presented in his book and lectures. THE CASE FOR MARS is not a vision for the far future or one that will cost us impossible billions. Zubrin explains step-by-step how we can use present-day technology to send humans to Mars with in 10 years; actually produce fuel and oxygen on the planets surface with Martian natural resources; how we can (and should) build bases and settlements, and how we can one day "terraform" Mars- a process that can alter the atmosphere of planets and pave the way for sustainable life. Carl Sagan told the Denver Post "Bob Zubrin really, nearly alone changed our thinking on this issue."

Dr. Robert Zubrin is an internationally renowned astronautical engineer and the acclaimed author of THE CASE FOR MARS, which Arthur C. Clarke called "the most comprehensive account of the past and future of Mars that I have ever encountered." He has also authored ENTERING SPACE and his first novel, entitled FIRST LANDING was published in the summer of 2001. NASA recently adapted Zubrin's humans-to-Mars mission plan. A former senior engineer at Lockheed Martin, Zubrin is president of the International Mars Society and founder of Pioneer Astronautics, a successful space exploration and development firm. During the month of July 2001, Dr. Zubrin commanded the Mars Society's simulated Mars Mission in the Arctic Circle. He lives with his family in Indian Hills, Colorado.

The lecture is the first in the new SpaceTalk Seminar Series and is sponsored by the Carolina Union Activities Board, the Robertson Scholars Grant Collaboration Fund, the Morehead Planetarium, the Carolina Union Student Opportunities Fund, and the Office of Distinguished Scholarships and Intellectual Life.


For more information on Dr. Zubrin and Mars exploration, visit these websites:

International Mars Society

Mars pioneer says simulation isn't a game

Mars Society research blossoms in desert

NASA's Mars Exploration Homepage

"Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth.
Our obligation to survive is owed not just to ourselves but also to that
Cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring."
- Carl Sagan