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Zubrin, Robert

Zubrin
Credit: NASA

American Engineer. Co-developer of the Mars Direct mission model and a passionate advocate for manned exploration of Mars by methods cheaper and quicker than the NASA model.

Born: 1952-04-09.

Wikipedia Biography: Robert Zubrin was an American aerospace engineer and author, best known for his advocacy of human exploration of Mars. He and his colleague at Martin Marietta, David Baker, were the driving force behind Mars Direct, a proposal intended to produce significant reductions in the cost and complexity of such a mission. The key idea was to use the Martian atmosphere to produce oxygen, water, and rocket propellant for the surface stay and return journey. A modified version of the plan was subsequently adopted by NASA 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 Project Apollo-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 and after the success of his book The Case for Mars, as well as leadership experience at the National Space Society, Zubrin established the Mars Society in 1998. This was an international organization advocating a manned Mars mission as a goal, by private funding if possible.

Zubrin was graduated from the University of Rochester in 1974 and received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering in 1992 from the University of Washington.He was the author of over 200 technical and non-technical papers and five books. He was a member of Lockheed Martin's scenario development team charged with developing strategies for space exploration. 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.[5] He is also President of both the Mars Society 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. He was awarded his first patent at age 20 in 1972 for Three Player Chess. His inventions also include the nuclear salt-water rocket and co-inventor (with Dana Andrews) of the magnetic sail. Zubrin is fellow at Center for Security Policy.

In 2008, Zubrin founded Pioneer Energy, a research and development firm headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado. The company's focus is to develop mobile Enhanced Oil Recovery (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.

Country: USA. Spacecraft: Athena Mars Flyby. Bibliography: 6262.

1952 April 9 - .

Birth of Robert Zubrin. - . Related Persons: Zubrin. American Engineer. Co-developer of the Mars Direct mission model and a passionate advocate for manned exploration of Mars by methods cheaper and quicker than the NASA model..

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