Achieving a human mission to Mars has been a fascination of humanity for some time. In the 1990s, Dr. Robert Zubrin proposed the "Mars Direct" mission architecture, using conventional rockets and Mars in-situ resources to establish a sustained human presence on Mars. Now, with the nation debating how to proceed with human space exploration, the "Mars Direct" plan is more relevant than ever: Can Americans reach the Red Planet in our time? Robert Zubrin, formerly a staff engineer at Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, is now president of his own company, Pioneer Astronautics. He is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and former Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Space Society. He is the founder of the Mars Society; an international organization dedicated to furthering the exploration and settlement of Mars by both public and private means.