After readin' this book I can understand why thar should be a strong emphasis for t' manned exploration o' Mars and why Mars should be t' focus o' our attention. By comparison manned exploration o' t' moon is really nay that important. Arrr! T' moon does nay have resources that can easily be exploited. Ya scallywag! It does nay have an atmosphere, oxygen is nay easily extractable from t' lunar rocks, and thar be no carbon in t' environment. Even t' lunar night/day cycle is nay conducive t' growin' plants.

T' book is long at about 350 pages. But, it starts out in an excitin' way in t' first chapter, which is only 18 pages long, with a manned Mars Direct program startin' in t' year 2020 and costin' only 30 billion dollars t' develop. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Usin' current technology and a heavy-lift vehicle about t' size o' t' Saturn V, shiver me timbers, a sequence o' launches is started. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' first launch is unmanned and carries a nuclear reactor as a power source and 6 tons o' liquid hydrogen. After landin' on Mars this hydrogen is converted into 108 tons o' methane and oxygen from t' Martian atmosphere (95 percent carbon dioxide) usin' gaslight technology and t' nuclear power source.

This is enough fuel and oxidizer t' provide land propulsion on t' Martian surface and a trip home for t' four astronauts that arrive about three years later usin' a similar size launch vehicle. Aye aye! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Herein lies t' key for t' proposed Mars Direct program - t' utilize as much as possible t' Martian resources that are available.

Like early explorers that came t' America, who didn't carry their air, matey, food, water, and fuel with them t' live permanently in t' New World, matey, so Martian explorers will use t' resources o' Mars. Well, blow me down! Even t' thin Martian atmosphere, which is equivalent t' t' earth's atmosphere at about 100,000 feet, can be used for aero-braking. Begad! In fact, shiver me timbers, takin' into account t' Martian aero-brakin' and surface refueling, it is more efficient in terms o' mission delta velocity requirements t' go t' Mars first and then go t' t' Moon rather than go t' t' Moon directly. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! Naturally, this route takes more time, arrr, but it is more efficient in terms o' delta velocity.

For a cost o' about $3 billion per year a four-man crew and a Martian habitat can be sent annually, me bucko, buildin' up a Martian base. Aye aye! Problems like radiation and zero gravity en route can be overcome and are nay show-stoppers. Blimey! Eventually, air-bubble shelters could be built t' provide a shirt-sleeve environment usin' nuclear power and carbon dioxide in t' atmosphere t' make oxygen. Ya scallywag! T' carbon dioxide can also be used t' reduce iron oxide t' make iron.

Usin' different processes other raw materials can be made. Begad! In t' long-range view, me bucko, Martian terraformin' may be a real possibility provided thar be enough carbon dioxide in t' Martian regolith (soil, rock, etc.). Blimey! It may be possible that by raisin' t' Martian atmospheric temperature by a relatively small amount, enough out-gassin' from t' regolith may be available t' raise t' Martian atmospheric pressure t' some appreciable fraction o' one Earth atmosphere in 1,000 t' 2,000 years. This could be accomplished by puttin' solar mirrors in orbit aimed at t' Martian poles. Begad! Such an atmosphere would allow humans t' walk on t' Martian surface without a pressure suit, me bucko, although a breathin' apparatus would still be required. Avast! However, since t' Martian day is only 40 minutes longer than an Earth day, plants would do just fine in t' carbon dioxide atmosphere.

This is an excitin' book t' read and a "must-read" book for any space enthusiast. Ahoy! Real manned exploration in our solar system takes on a new meanin' in this book.