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In Fall 2018, The Mars Society offered a prize for the best design and description of a 1000 person colony on Mars. The twenty page plans had to account for the colony location and design, the economic success of thecolony, the socio/cultural environment, the governance processes, and the aesthetics of living on Mars. One hundred teams from around the world responded with their proposals. This book presents 22 of the plans judged to be the best to address all these requirements in a comprehensive way. The depth and breadth of this thinking of teams from around the planet Earth as they planned and described their concepts for settling the Red Planet can only be fully appreciated by reading all of the design reports in this book.

"Sustainability" is a key idea on college campuses in the United States and the rest of the Western world. To many, sustainability is just a new name for environmentalism. But the word has come to mean something much larger: an ideology that demands new limits on economic, political, and intellectual freedom as the price that must be paid to ensure the welfare of future generations.This report is the first in-depth critical examination of the sustainability movement in higher education. The movement, of course, extends well beyond the college campus. But the college campus is where the movement gets its voice of authority, and where it molds the views and commands the attention of young people.Hank Campbell , president, American Council on Science and Health Sustainability has become a catch-all term for people and companies trying to attach an ethical halo to their self-identification. The National Academy of Scholars has punctured this mythology and shows how, rather than defending the environment, the sustainability movement primarily results in higher costs-costs that will be borne by those least likely to be able to afford it, but who are duped into thinking they are making a difference.Willie Soon, astrophysicist, Cambridge, MASustainability is a must-read for all truth-seeking and freedom-loving students. If our higher educational institutions are now so willingly corrupted with anti-scientific and pseudo-religious agendas of "cosmic" justices, I can only wish for more determined courage for all to stand up and say "no more." This NAS report will help provide the necessary intellectual ammunition to do so.David Legates, Professor of Climatology, University of Delaware"The sustainability movement is adversely changing academia through the degradation of intellectual freedom, the corrosion of institutional integrity, and the transition from a "diversity" of thought into a "university" of singular beliefs.Sustainability: Higher Education's New Fundamentalism shines a light on the impact the environmental movement has had on higher education. It is an eye- opener and definitely worth the read."

Interest in rockets that use fission reactors as the heat source has centered on manned flights to Mars. The demands of such missions require rockets that are several times more powerful than the chemical rockets in use today.Rocket engines operate according to the basic principles expressed in Newton's third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In a chemical rocket, hot gases are created by chemical combustion; in a nuclear rocket heating of the propellant in a nuclear reactor creates hot gas. In either case, the hot gases flow through the throat of the rocket nozzle where they expand and develop thrust.Extensive development effort has been expended on nuclear rockets. The nuclear Rover/ NERVA rocket programs provide a very high confidence level that the technology for a flight nuclear rocket exists. These programs demonstrated power levels between 507 MWt and 4,100 MWt and thrust levels of up to 930 kN (200,000 Ibf). Specific impulse, a measure of rocket performance, was more than twice that of chemical rockets. Ground testing and technology development has been done on several concepts described in this book. However, though there appear to be no technical barriers to the development of a successful nuclear rocket, no nuclear rockets have been flown in space.This book describes the fundamentals of nuclear rockets, the safety and other mission requirements, developmental history of various concepts both in the U.S. and Russia, and it summarizes key developmental issues.

The advantages of space nuclear fission power systems can be summarized as: compact size; low to moderate mass; long operating lifetimes; the ability to operate in extremely hostile environments; operation independent of the distance from the Sun or of the orientation to the Sun; and high system reliability and autonomy. In fact, as power requirements approach the tens of kilowatts and megawatts, fission nuclear energy appears to be the only realistic power option. The building blocks for space nuclear fission electric power systems include the reactor as the heat source, power generation equipment to convert the thermal energy to electrical power, waste heat rejection radiators and shielding to protect the spacecraft payload. The power generation equipment can take the form of either static electrical conversion elements that have no moving parts (e.g., thermoelectric or thermionic) or dynamic conversion components (e.g., the Rankine, Brayton or Stirling cycle).The U.S. has only demonstrated in space, or even in full systems in a simulated ground environment, uranium-zirconium-hydride reactor power plants. These power plants were designed for a limited lifetime of one year and the mass of scaled up power plants would probably be unacceptable to meet future mission needs. Extensive development was performed on the liquid-metal cooled SP-100 power systems and components were well on their way to being tested in a relevant environment. A generic flight system design was completed for a seven year operating lifetime power plant, but not built or tested.The former USSR made extensive use of space reactors as a power source for radar ocean reconnaissance satellites. They launched some 31 missions using reactors with thermoelectric power conversion systems and two with thermionic converters.Current activities are centered on Fission Surface Power for lunar applications. Activities are concentrating on demonstrating component readiness.This book will discuss the components that make up a nuclear fission power system, the principal requirements and safety issues, various development programs, status of developments, and development issues.

For operating in severe environments, long life and reliability, radioisotope power systems have proven to be the most successful of all space power sources. Two Voyager missions launched in 1977 to study Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and their satellites, rings and magnetic fields and continuing to the heliosphere region are still functioning over thirty years later. Radioisotope power systems have been used on the Moon, exploring the planets, and exiting our solar system. There success is a tribute to the outstanding engineering, quality control and attention to details that went into the design and production of radioisotope power generation units.Space nuclear radioisotope systems take the form of using the thermal energy from the decay of radioisotopes and converting this energy to electric power. Reliability and safety are of prime importance. Mission success depends on the ability of being able to safely launch the systems and on having sufficient electrical power over the life of the mission. Graceful power degradation over the life of a mission is acceptable as long as it is within predictable limits. Electrical power conversion systems with inherent redundancy, such as thermoelectric conversion systems, have been favored to date. Also, radioactive decay heat has been used to maintain temperatures in spacecraft at acceptable conditions for other components.This book describes how radioisotope systems work, the requirements and safety design considerations, the various systems that have been developed, and their operational history.

In January 2022, the Mars Society announced the holding of an international contest for the best design plan of diverse teams of specializedrobots using a 10 metric ton Mars lander, an essential requirement for any human Mars exploration mission. Such systems could first be demonstrated by being used to deliver expeditions consisting of platoons of robots, including wheeled or treaded ground rovers, helicopters, airplanes,balloons, or other types of flight vehicles, and legged robots, including those in humanoid, cat-like, or insectoid forms. Expeditions of this type could return scientific bonanzas while preparing Mars landing sites for human arrival. This book contains the designs of the six finalists in thecompetition.

The Case for Nukes is a unique book. In it, world-renowned nuclear and aerospace engineerDr. Robert Zubrin explains how nuclear power works and how much it has to offer humanity. Hedebunks the toxic falsehoods that have been spread to dissuade us from using it by variously theignorant, the fearful, the fanatical, and by cynical political operatives bought and paid for bycompeting interests. He tells about revolutionary developments in the field, including newreactor types that can be cheaply mass produced, that cannot be made to melt down no matterhow hard their operators try, that use a new fuel called thorium far more plentiful than uranium,and still more advanced systems, employing thermonuclear fusion - the power that lights the sun- to extract more energy from a gallon of water than can be obtained from 300 gallons ofgasoline. He tells about the bold entrepreneurs - a totally different breed from the governmentofficials who created the existing types of nuclear reactors - who are leading this revolution inpower technology.But there are broader issues involved in the nuclear debate than technology alone, and Zubrinis not shy about addressing them. He makes clear the critical difference between practicalenvironmentalism, which seeks to improve the environment for the benefit of humanity, andideological environmentalism, which seeks to use instances of human insult to naturalenvironment as evidence for a prosecutorial case against human liberty. He shows how the latterschool of thought is wrong, not only with respect to the catastrophic harm it would do tohumanity, but to nature as well. He also exposes the masters of mercenary environmentalism,who deploy troops of dupes to shut down companies or whole industries in order to eliminatecompetition in return for being suitably rewarded by the beneficiaries of such efforts. He showsthat when it comes to environmental improvement, freedom is not the problem; freedom is thesolution. He makes clear both the possibility and necessity of a nuclear-power-enabledrevolution in the human condition by putting it in a broader historical context of the overall process of development of civilization, whereby new technologies create new resources and new knowledge, which in turn make possible still more technological advance.Finally, Zubrin brings all this to bear to address the greatest threat facing humanity today- which is the possibility that we will turn on each other, as we did in the 20 th century, under thespell of the false idea that resources are finite.Only in a world of unlimited resources can all men and women be brothers and sisters.Only in a world of freedom can resources be unlimited.That is the world we can, and must, create. In The Case for Nukes, Zubrin shows us how.

Born in the early 1120s, the troubaritz Marie de France was the first European woman to write a book. Her Lais of Marie de France, a set of chivalric tales published circa 1170, was an immediate hit and has been in print in many languages ever since. Eleanor's Crusades, the autobiographical account of her extraordinary youthful adventures as bard to Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, was lost until its rediscovery in 2005. A remarkable document providing a unique view of the tumultuous rebirth of western civilization at the dawn of the high middle ages, Eleanor's Crusades contains dramatic first-hand accounts of the trial of Peter Abelard, early chivalric tournaments, the Cathar heresy, the building of the first Gothic cathedral, the founding of the University of Paris, the sieges of Poitiers and Valencia, chariot races in Constantinople, the sea battle of Cape Malea, and the spectacular and terrifying expedition now known as the Second Crusade. This is its first English translation.

What if Americans were the terrorists, and a more civilized superpower found it necessary to put us down? What if contemporary Christian ministers preached salvation through murder of non-believing foreigners, and the US government recruited child suicide-assassins for this purpose? If you were an American living in such a crazed society, what would you do? If you were a civilized outsider, how would you deal with these insane savages?The Holy Land poses such predicaments, and more. In an attempt to save the Minervans from oppression in the central galaxy, the liberal Western Galactic Empire has relocated the sect to their ancient homeland of Kennewick, Washington. The fundamentalist fanatics ruling the USA find the presence of pagans in the holy city intolerable, however, and they launch an interstellar campaign of mass destruction in protest. Now, cast in a universe gone mad, the primitive Earthling POW Sergeant Hamilton and his case officer, the sophisticated Minervan priestess (3rd class) Aurora, must find the way out, or neither side will survive. In this madcap role-reversed science-fiction satire on the Mideast crisis and the War on Terrorism, the gloves come off. Written with wit and verve by Heinlein Award winner Robert Zubrin, the author of The Case for Mars, Entering Space, and First Landing, The Holy Land takes science fiction back to its Swiftian roots. Rarely since Czech humanist Karel Capek aimed his 1936 War with the Newts at fascism and appeasement has the medium been mobilized to such pointed effect."A satiric tour de force" - School Library Journal"The duplicity, mendacity, and hypocrisy that characterize the present predicament in the Middle East are laid bare in Zubrin's engaing romp, with verve and biting wit." - National Review Online"Nothing is spared from Zubrin's satiric pen: religion, politics, economics, sex, war, psychology, philosophy - all are the objects of his barbs....The Holy Land is a surprisingly fine follow-up to Zubrin's other fictional and non-fiction works." - The Rocky Mountain News"It's a hoot." - The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Benedict Arnold: A Drama of the American Revolution in Five Acts Benedict Arnold was the greatest combat soldier of the American Revolution. Yet, in September 1780, in collusion with the beautiful Tory agent Peggy Shippen and British spymaster John Andre, he attempted to betray George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton, and the critical fortress of West Point into Royal hands. This devastating plot came within a hair's breath of succeeding, and the fragile infant American cause was only saved by the chance intervention of three of the humblest and most improbable heroes ever to grace the annals of history. Exciting and dramatic, the tale of the Arnold conspiracy recounts the most perilous moment in the birth of the new nation, and plumbs the depths and the heights of human nature. Now, in the historically accurate play, Benedict Arnold, noted scientist and author Robert Zubrin brings this incredible and still meaningful story back to life.