The Mars Project; Journeys Beyond the Cold War

New York: Hill and Wang, 1986. First Edition [stated], presumed first printing. Hardcover. Very good. xix, [1], 215, [3] pages. Appendices. Bibliography. Foreword by Arthur C. Clarke. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Spark Masayuki Matsunaga (October 8, 1916 - April 15, 1990) was a United States Senator from Hawaii, serving from 1977 until his death in 1990. He was an American Democrat whose legislation in the United States Senate led to the creation of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians and the United States Institute of Peace. He became a United States Army Reservist in 1941, volunteered for active duty in July that year, and was twice wounded in battle while serving with the renowned 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion. Derived from a Kirkus review: A visionary proposal by Senator Matsunaga for international cooperation in the realm of peace. Matsunaga has sponsored several congressional resolutions to preclude US--USSR confrontation in space. Here, he relates the background for his resolutions and calls for a sequel to the International Geophysical Year, to be called an International Space Year in 1992, in time to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' journey (or the 75th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, for that part of the world). His grand call is for a joint American-Russian manned mission to Mars by the end of this century. He offers well-reasoned background to demonstrate that the resources are, indeed, available for such a mission. Matsunaga argues that in the past our military has always led the way in exploration, whereas now they draw pay for make-work projects. Thus, he suggests that the Air Force be assigned responsibility for his pet project. It would, he writes, both inspire the military and lead us inevitably towards an exciting Mars landing. The book was written prior to the recent shuttle disaster, so there is no mention as to how that shock might affect Washington's response to such a risky mission.