Lunascaping and Zubrin

> I just finished "Entering Space" last week. i enjoyed it. just after
> reading "the high frontier", it certainly seemed a lot more realistic
> and believable. let's be honest, o'neills basic idea is over 20 years
> old now. as exciting as it is, it's worth looking at more recent concepts.
>
> ok, now i'm in for trouble;)
>

I'm not at all enthusiastic about Zubrin and his ideas.

Caveat #1: we don't even know whether humans can live on Mars for more
than short visits. We haven't done any experiments yet of having
mammals live in .38G environments. Some people (I think students) at
M.I.T. and elsewhere have proposed launching a small satellite with lab
rats (mice?) to see what happens to mammal bodies in substantially less
that 1G. We do know microgravity on space stations requires extreme
countermeasures to combat. For example, 2 hours a day of major
exercise. I'm in the close to 1 hour a day here on earth and I know
what a commitment that is. We also know that humans on earth who
exercise more are healthier than couch potatoes. O'Neill colonies at
least promise a 1 G environment if we need it.

Caveat #2: Terraform an entire planet? That's much more ambitious than
building a space colony. By orders of magnitude.

Caveat #3: Mars is only one planet. Where do we go from there?
O'Neill's observations about the limitations of planets as places to
live and work still seem reasonable.

Caveat #4: The first time I heard Zubrin talk I didn't much like him.
The artist in me says pay attention to your feelings. They could be
wrong, but at least acknowledge them and try to understand them. I
learned this year that Zubrin was at least once part of loony Lyndon
LaRouche's crowd. I tend not to trust or respect that crowd.

Best,

Chuck Divine