The Visionaries

From imagination to reality

All Science Fiction Writers

Our story begins with writers. In particular, the imagination of science fiction writers. Starting in the 1800s with authors like Jules Vern, and H. G. Wells, through to the 1900s with the likes of Ray Bradbury, Kim Stanley Robinson and Arthur C. Clarke, and now into the 21 century. Science fiction has and most likely always will be where fantastical, and seemingly prophetic new ideas pop up. It's not surprising, then, that exploring Mars appeared in fiction long before any serous studies.

And even then, after the 1940s, when serous scientific consideration was being given to exploring Mars, science fiction writers were still mostly responsible for the public’s interest in Red Planet. Their works inspired a generation of engineers and scientists, and so even though they didn't design the actual spacecraft, they still played an integral role in all aspects of space exploration.

Wernher Von Braun

V is for Von Braun. V is for V2. V is for Saturn V. And V is for visionary. Von Braun was a man ahead of his time, coming up with plans for voyages to the Red Planet long before any would actually take place. And yet, even now, 50 years later, many of his projects and predictions still hold true.

In 1948 Von Braun wrote a detailed study called The Mars Project, looking into the plausibility of a huge scientific expedition to Mars. Only three years earlier he had been working on the V2 missile, the first human made object to reach space, and 21 years later his creation, the Saturn V, would land the first humans on the Moon.

That same year, in 1969, he would write another study on going to Mars. It would be rejected by NASA and congress in favour of continuing operations in low Earth orbit, and humanity's expansion to other planets would be delayed at least 50 years.

Buzz Aldrin

A is for Aldrin. A is for astronaut. And A is for awesome. A is also for, American Hero! But not just an American hero, his space legacy will be appreciated by the whole world. He is, of course, a pilot, an astronaut, an engineer who made vital contributions to the Apollo program, a Moonwalker, but also for the last 50 years, he has been a tireless and influential campaigner and ambassador for humans to Mars.

Buzz adopted a public role as a global space ambassador, which has enabled him to win the ear of every President since Nixon, giving him the opportunity to campaign for, and advise them on matters of crewed Mars missions, and the colonisation of the Red Planet.

Robert Zubrin

Z is for... well, actually we couldn’t think of anything that starts with Z. But that doesn't mean he’s not still awesome! The one thing Zubrin never does is rest from his quest to get humans to Mars, and that's putting it lightly. In the 1980s Zubrin worked at Martin Marietta and was instrumental in the creation of the Mars Direct system, alongside David Baker. He was also responsible for the invention of the Nuclear Salt Water Rocket, which someday might be the standard in-space interplanetary propulsion system. He is also the author of multiple great books detailing how humanity should spread out to the stars, including the hugely influential The Case For Space, and The Case For Mars.

In the late 1990s he founded the Mars Society, which now has members and chapters across the globe. It has also developed various Mars 'simulations', where volunteers are stationed in the desert or the arctic and put through the same amount of isolation a real Mars mission crew would endure. They even commissioned a National Anthem for Mars.

Elon Musk

E is for The Elon (page 7). Reusable rocket builder. Renewable energy supporter. Ultimate memelord.

SpaceX was once on the verge of bankruptcy after its first three rocket launches failed. Now, it's literally building crewed rockets to go to the Moon and Mars. And on top of that, they are reusable. Against all odds, Elon has made commercial spaceflight a reality.

But it's not just SpaceX. He also has the most iconic electric car company on the planet, Tesla, and a solar power company, Solar City. He's even pioneering braincomputer interfaces with Neuralink. Amidst all this, only one thing is for certain. Whatever the future for Mars exploration holds, it will probably have rather a lot to do with Elon Musk.