T minus 10 interview series by space industry leader Dylan Taylor. This episode features scientist, author, founder of the Mars Society and mentor to Elon Musk, Dr. Robert Zubrin.

1. An interview seires
with Dylan Taylor
T-MINUS 10
ROBERT ZUBRIN
with

2. T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
Robert Zubrin is President of Pioneer Astronautics, an aerospace R&D company located in Lakewood,
Colorado. He is also the founder and President of the Mars Society. Formerly a Staff Engineer at
Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, he holds a Masters degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics
and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Washington. Zubrin is the author of 20
patents and over 200 published technical and non-technical papers in the field of space exploration
and technology. In addition to his many technical publications, Dr. Zubrin is the author of nine books,
including "The Case for Mars: How We Shall Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must," published by
Simon and Schuster’s Free Press Division in Oct. 1996, “Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring
Civilization,” published by Tarcher Putnam in Aug. 1999, “Mars on Earth: Adventures of Space Pioneers
in the High Arctic,” published by Tarcher Penguin in Sept. 2003, “Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror,” published by Prometheus
Books in November 2007, the humorous “How to Live on Mars: A Trusty Guidebook to Surving and Thriving on the Red Planet,” published
by Random House in December 2008,“Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudoscientists, and the Fatal Cult of
Antihumanism,” published by Encounter Books in 2012, and “The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of
Limitless Possibility,” published by Prometheus Books in 2019.Since founding Pioneer Astronautics in January 1996, Dr. Zubrin has served as
the Principal Investigator of over fifty research and development projects in areas including spacecraft and launch vehicle propulsion
systems, Mars and Lunar in-situ resource utilization technology, EVA life support and propulsion, and robotic exploration systems. As
leader of the Mars Society he led the construction of two Mars analog research stations – one in the Canadian high Arctic in 2000 and
the other in the American desert in 2001 - and has overseen a program involving over 200 simulated Mars exploration missions at those
stations during the period since. Prior to working at Lockheed Martin he worked in a number of areas, including thermonuclear fusion,
nuclear power plant safety, and as a high school science teacher.
ABOUT
ROBERT ZUBRIN

3. I was born in Brooklyn, New York.
10. WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND,
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

4. I was an especially early reader and by age five I had already read a lot of science fiction. Then Sputnik
happened, and I was exhilarated, because it meant these stories were going to become real. My father further
encouraged me by buying me a telescope.In college the real world got to me. To me, space exploration was
for movie stars and “those” people who were on TV. It couldn’t be real for me. So I gave up on that dream and
became a science teacher. In 1983 I had an awakening of sorts and when to grad school for an advanced
engineering degree. It was at that time I heard of the the Mars underground and linked up with them. Then I
got a job at Martin Marietta and I wrote the Mars Direct plan and started to become quite well known in space
circles.In 1996 I became an entrepreneur and formed Pioneer Astronautics which I still run today.We had
received 4,000 letters I published The Case for Mars. This led us to think that we should have a society for
Mars. We had our first initial meeting of the Mars Society in Boulder in 1998.
9. WHEN DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN SPACE?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

5. 8. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BIGGEST ISSUE FACING THE
INDUSTRY TODAY?
E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L S P A C E W A S N O T R E A L T W E N T Y Y E A R S A G O . N O W W I T H E L O N A N D
S P A C E X I S H A S B E C O M E R E A L . H E D I D W H A T H E S A I D O U T T O D O A N D A T 1 / 3 T H E
T I M E A N D 1 / 1 0 T H E C O S T O F W H A T H A D B E C O M E A C C E P T E D A S N O R M A L I N
A E R O S P A C E . W H A T H E H A S A C H I E V E D I S R E M A R K A B L E . W E N E E D T O T A K E
A D V A N T A G E O F W H A T H E A N D O T H E R E N T R E P R E N E U R S A R E D O I N G B Y H A V E N A S A
A D O P T A N A P P R O A C H T O G E T T I N G M I S S I O N S D O N E T H A T R E W A R D S M E R I T . O U R
C U R R E N T G O V E R N M E N T R U N S Y S T E M D O E S N O T R E W A R D M E R I T I N T H E S A M E W A Y .
W E N E E D T O L E T T H E E N T R E P R E N E U R S D O M O R E .
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

6. 7. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO
FOR FUN?
H I K I N G . S K I I N G . W R I T I N G . D I S T U R B I N G
T H E U N I V E R S E . B E I N G A N A G I T A T O R .
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

7. Casablanca because I
generally have a positive
view of human nature and in
the movie the characters rise
above to be much greater
than people expect
6. WHAT IS YOUR
FAVORITE MOVIE AND
WHY?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

8. Lee Smolin Life of the CosmosLife
and Fate by Vasily GrossmanNinety-
Three by Victor Hugo
5. WHAT ARE SOME OF
YOUR
FAVORITE BOOKS?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

9. 4. WHAT ARE YOU
READING NOW?
T H E E A G L E U N B O W E D B Y H A L I K
K O C H A N S K I . I T ’ S A B O U T P O L A N D I N
W O R L D W A R 2 .
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

10. 3. WHERE DO YOU SEE THE SPACE INDUSTRY
IN TEN YEARS?
I N 1 0 Y E A R S T H E E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L S P A C E R E V O L U T I O N W I L L
H A V E S U C C E E D E D I N T H E U S A N D B E W E L L O N I T S W A Y I N
E U R O P E . M U S K H A S I N S P I R E D M A N Y O T H E R S P A C E X S
I N C L U D I N G I N O T H E R I N D U S T R I E S A N D T H E Y W I L L T A K E
H O L D . S P A C E C R A F T W I L L B E R A D I C A L L Y C H E A P E R , W E W I L L
H A V E A M O O N B A S E , A N D W E W I L L H A V E L A N D E D O N M A R S .
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

11. Join the revolution. There are
lots of things they can do.
There is something for
everybody.Enlist under a
banner an existing venture or
start a new one. Or start
with an old guard, get some
experience and then create
your own company.
2. WHAT WOULD YOU TELL
PEOPLE JUST STARTING OUT
IN THE SPACE INDUSTRY?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

12. Optimist. Humanist. Rebel.
1. WHAT THREE WORDS BEST
DESCRIBE YOU?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor

13. Have someone to recommend
for an interview? Contact me!
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES
WITH LEADERS OF THE SPACE
INDUSTRY
www.dylantaylor.org