Space Expert Argues for Human Trips to Mars

Robert Zurbin, an international authority on space propulsion and exploration, will be at UW–Madison Thursday, April 24, to discuss the potential of sending humans to Mars. His talk, sponsored by the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, begins at 4 p.m. in room 1610, Engineering Hall. It is free of charge and open to the public.

Zurbin will discuss concepts from his book, The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must. In the book, he provides a blueprint for reaching Mars affordably within the next 10 years. The plan calls for a “travel light and live off the land” approach, and explains step by step how to use present-day technology to produce fuel and oxygen on the planet’s surface, build bases and settlements, and eventually “terraform” Mars – a process that can alter the atmosphere of planets and pave the way for sustainable life.

As senior engineer at Lockheed Martin, Zurbin led the development of “Black Colt,” an aerial refueled spaceplane that was the prototype for Pioneer Rocketplane’s Pathfinder. After leaving Lockheed, he founded Pioneer Astronautics, a space exploration research and development firm.

Zurbin chairs the executive committee of the National Space Society, is a fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, and has written more than 100 articles on space propulsion and exploration. He has been featured in numerous television documentaries in both the United States and Europe, and his work has been covered in such publications as Fortune Magazine, Newsweek, Air and Space Smithsonian, Popular Science, Omni, Space News and The Economist. In the areas of space transportation and exploration, Zurbin has advised NASA administrator Dan Goldin, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and many other high-ranking individuals and groups.