Destination Mars

This week’s interview is with Robert Zubrin, astronautics engineer and President of the Mars Society, who also introduced Elon Musk to Jim Cantrell at the founding of SpaceX. Dr. Zubrin was in Washington, DC at the Lincoln Network’s “Reboot American Innovation” conference to contrast the successes of the private sector space industry over the past few years with the excess and stagnation of NASA’s human flight program over the past few decades. At the current rate of innovation, he believes that the first manned mission to Mars will happen in our lifetimes. Should we settle Mars before we settle the moon? Are there regulatory restraints on the private space industry? Has our generation lost the drive to pursue the knowledge that made it possible for us to go to space? How do we inspire people to try something that has never been done before?Further Reading:The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility, written by Robert Zubrin Reboot American Innovation May 2, 2019, Lincoln NetworkRelated Content:From SpaceX to Vector: Jim Cantrell and the Private Space Industry, Building Tomorrow Podcast Jim Cantrell on Vector, Elon Musk, and Space Force, written by Spencer Neale A Libertarian Response to Global Depopulation, written by Pamela J. Hobart Debunking Overpopulation, Building Tomorrow Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.