Guest: Dr. Robert (Bob) Zubrin; Topics: The upcoming Mars Society all virtual and free conference plus man additional topics which Bob addressed.
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We welcomed Dr. Bob Zubrin back to the program for 95 minutes to discuss the upcoming Mars Society all virtual and free conference from Oct. 15-18, 2020 (see www.marssociety.org). In addition to discussing the conference, speakers, topics and the uniqueness of The Mars Society virtual conference program, Bob talked about Artemis, getting to the Moon, Mars, China and Mars, Starship, goals and more. That said, the first part of our discussion focused on the conference.
Bob suggested I have a guest on the show, James Burk, to discuss the particulars of their special software running their conference which is different from other virtual conferences. The speakers are real time regardless of time zone. Those attending can participate and ask questions real time. I followed up on Bob's suggestion and have added a special program for the coming week, Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 PM PDT. While Bob did talk about the technology behind the conference and conference logistics, I will skip that part of the summary for the more detailed discussion with James Burk Monday evening.
Bob highlighted many of the plenary speakers which you can see on the schedule at www.marssociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Mars-Society-2020-Convention-Schedule.pdf for each day of the conference. Many of the speakers are also detailed under the tab Speakers at www.marssociety.org/conventions/2020.
Listeners sent in emails asking about certain topics being covered at the event. Questions were asked about Artemis, Gateway, the best and most plausible way to get to Mars, Public Private Partnerships, would space remain bipartisan post-election, would we still go to the Moon or does it depend on who might win the election plus lots of other questions. Orion and Dragon were talked about along with questions about how independent and resilient the private space sector might be from the public sector if adverse changes hit the public policy space market. Bob talked about public space policy goals and why he thought they were wrong. Listen to what he said about that. In addition, don't miss all of what he said during the program regarding Artemis, SLS, and Orion. Later in the program a listener asked him about the recent program with the economist from IDA.org on the economics of a humans to Mars mission which were panned in the report. Bob explained the report and supported the conclusions because it was based on a very poor NASA plan. Don't miss what Bob said about this report. By the way, Dr. Crane, our IDA.Org guest explained the conclusions in that they only pertained to the NASA program. In his response from this last Sunday, he said similar things to what Bob said about that Mars plan.
Other topics included planetary protection and looking for life on Mars. Bob spent time on both of these topics. Those of you who have heard Bob address these issues on earlier Space Show programs or in his articles know his position which was once again articulated on this program. Don't miss what he said on PP, searching for life, biomarkers, contamination from Earth, Mars contamination going to Earth, sample return missions and more.
Ft. Wroth John called to discussion human factors issues for going to Mars, especially in light of SpaceX and their plans. Bob had much to say on this topic so listen to all of this mini-discussion. Later, John from San Carlos called to ask Bob what he thought should the landing site for humans on Mars. He suggested a mid-latitude location with water ice. Bob elaborated on this so be sure to hear all of what he said. They also talked about propellant for the mission, including storing it on Mars for the return mission. ISRU was a big component of this discussion. Listener Richard sent in an email asking Bob if he was doing ISRU prep for Mars with SpaceX. Bob said he was involved in ISRU prep but not with Mr. Musk or SpaceX. China and Mars were then brought up and here Bob had much to say about that topic.
Bob offered some conference summary comments but then we got one final question. Listener James in Memphis wanted to know if Bob thought that Venus would now become the primary location for searching for life with the discovery of phosphine in the upper atmosphere. He said no but wanted to do Venus balloon missions. Listen to him tell us why he wants to see that exploration take place.
Post your comments/questions for Dr. Zubrin on our blog page for this show. You can reach Dr. Zubrin through me or the Mars Society website.
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