HANKSVILLE, Utah – March 21, 2025 – The Mars Society announced today the launch of a landmark global fundraising campaign to bolster the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), a critical hub for training future Mars explorers and advancing research for life on the Red Planet. Located in the Utah desert, MDRS serves as a premier analog facility where simulated Mars missions and cutting-edge STEM education converge to prepare humanity for its interplanetary future. The campaign aims to raise $250,000 to… READ MORE >
Topic Area: Humans To Mars
The Mars Society is thrilled to announce its annual poster design contest—and is calling on all creative minds! If you have a passion for graphic design and a love for Mars and space exploration, this is your chance to make your mark. The winning poster will be featured as the main promotional graphic for the 28th Annual International Mars Society Convention, set for October 9–11, 2025 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. This year’s convention theme, “Mars:… READ MORE >
High Schoolers, Ready to Conquer Mars? Join the 2025 Mission to Mars Engineering Design Competition!
The Mars Society is very proud to launch its Fourth Annual International Mission to Mars Engineering Design Competition for high school students aged 13-19 worldwide. This exciting virtual program invites students to take on a hands-on design challenge and explore the future of Mars exploration. Running Monday through Friday from June 9 – July 18, 2025, the program features lectures and workshops led by top scientists and engineers from NASA, the aerospace industry, and global academia. Participants will design a… READ MORE >
Get ready, Mars enthusiasts! The 2025 International Mars Society Convention is set for Thursday-Saturday, October 9–11 at USC (University of Southern California) in Los Angeles—its 28th year as the premier global conference on Mars exploration, human settlement planning, and cutting-edge space technologies. As the U.S. government announces its intention to make a near-term human mission to Mars the central goal of America’s space program, the convention’s theme “Mars: The Time has Come” will be right on target. Join leading scientists,… READ MORE >
The vision of sending humans to Mars is closer than ever, with both private and government-led initiatives making serious progress. Organizations like NASA, SpaceX, and international space agencies are actively developing the technology and strategies to make interplanetary travel a reality. But getting there requires more than just innovation—it demands consistent funding, policy stability, and global collaboration to ensure long-term success. To explore these challenges and opportunities, the Mars Society’s Red Planet Live podcast is convening a special episode with Dr. Robert Zubrin, the organization’s president and founder. Join us on Tuesday, March 4th… READ MORE >
By Dr. Robert Zubrin, The New Atlantis, 01.31.25 Between SpaceX’s breakthroughs and Trump’s inaugural promise, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity. But it can’t be realized as an eccentric’s project or a pork banquet. Here’s a science-driven program that could get astronauts on the Red Planet by 2031. America now has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to open the space frontier by initiating a sustained program of human exploration of Mars. Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship launch system will soon be operational, offering payload… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is proud to announce the publication of its new book Students to Mars! The Mars Society’s International Design Competition for High School Students 2022-2023. Around the world, in all the best university engineering programs, students encounter at some point a class different from all the others. This is the engineering design class, within which, instead of being tested as individuals on their mastery of lectures and texts, the class is challenged to work as a team to… READ MORE >
Dear Friend, As we approach the end of 2024, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible progress we’ve made together at the Mars Society and invite you to join us in celebrating Giving Tuesday (December 3), a day of global giving on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Thanks to your unwavering support, our mission to advance humanity’s journey to Mars continues to thrive. This year, we embarked on new adventures and solidified our place as pioneers… READ MORE >
Mars Society Members & Advocates, Thank you for your ongoing dedication to space exploration. We’re pleased to provide an update on our Mars Exploration Act (MEA) initiative, which aims to secure congressional support for legislation requiring NASA to develop a plan to land astronauts on Mars within the next decade. This mandate sets a clear direction for Mars exploration, establishing focused goals, timelines, and mission planning independent of existing programs or incentives. As we move forward with advocacy, we’ll rely… READ MORE >
Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States. The Mars Society is non-partisan and does not endorse any candidate. Many of our members and other space advocates supported Mr. Trump’s election, while many others opposed him. For reasons I have amply explained elsewhere, I have always been a member of the latter group. That said, whatever we think of the various policies that Mr. Trump has put on offer, there is one that I and the vast majority of Mars Society members certainly support: his promise to initiate a… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is proud to announce that Sergii Iakymov, Director of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), has successfully completed a 45-day NASA simulated Mars mission at the HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) facility, located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The mission, which ran from August 9 to September 23, is a vital part of NASA’s efforts to better understand the physical and psychological challenges astronauts may face during long-duration space missions. Sergii was selected alongside three… READ MORE >
While our amazing host Ashton Zeth enjoys a well-deserved vacation in early October, our Red Planet Live podcast will feature a special series of short, recorded interviews with six leading experts who spoke at the 27th Annual International Mars Society Convention in Seattle this past August. The taped show will air beginning on Tuesday, October 1st at 5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET. Featured guests include: – Howard Hu, Orion Program Director, NASA – Artemis Program & Returning to… READ MORE >
By Shriya Sawant, Guest Writer, Red Planet Bound, 09.19.24 A heated point of contention between space advocates and environmental advocates can be summarized by one succinct phrase: whether to “Save Earth or Settle Mars”. You might also recognize the phrase “Save Earth and Then Go to Mars,” or vice versa “Why Going to Space will Save Humanity” across many articles, tweets, and blogs. However, a fallacy in all of these statements is that they depict sustainability movements and space exploration… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is excited to announce that its president, Dr. Robert Zubrin, will join Red Planet Live on Thursday, September 19th (5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET) to discuss the organization’s new nation-wide campaign urging Congress to ask NASA to develop a plan for landing humans on Mars within the next 10 years. Hosted by Ashton Zeth, the live podcast will offer insights into this bold initiative. The Mars Society has drafted a proposed Mars Exploration Act, requiring… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is excited to announce that Kirsten Whittingham, President of Max Space and a distinguished veteran in the aerospace industry, will be the featured guest on the September 3rd episode of Red Planet Live. Hosted by Ashton Zeth, this 60-minute RPL broadcast will explore the cutting-edge developments in space habitats and the future of space exploration. Max Space is at the forefront of designing and manufacturing affordable, high-fidelity expandable space habitats. These innovative structures are set to revolutionize… READ MORE >
My name is Nicole Willett, Director of Education Programs at the Mars Society, the world’s largest humans-to-Mars advocacy group. We are excited to offer a comprehensive STEM curriculum designed for all grade levels (K-12) and are looking for teachers to implement these projects and activities in their classrooms—completely free of charge! Understanding the challenges of tight budgets, we’re providing these resources at no cost. All we ask in return is for your feedback on the activities via a brief Google… READ MORE >
Science, tech & space enthusiasts, unite! Join us for an out-of-this-world evening at the Space & Time Networking Night 🚀, part of the 2024 International Mars Society Convention at UW Seattle. Co-hosted by the Mars Society and Seattle Space Happy Hour, this event will take place on Friday, August 10th, from 7:00-9:00pm at the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, an intimate setting surrounded by pre-historic dinosaur fossils. It’s your chance to rub elbows with fellow space geeks, chat… READ MORE >
Get ready for an exciting episode of Red Planet Live! On Tuesday, August 6th (5pm PT / 8pm ET), join us for an in-depth look into the Mars Society’s Ambassador Program, led by its newly appointed director and RPL host Ashton Zeth. This 60-minute live broadcast will feature a panel of esteemed guests including James Melton, the founder of the program and Chief Ambassador Emeritus, along with international program representatives Nasir Rizwan (Pakistan), Jonathan Adler (Australia), and Emmanuel Kyei Twumasi… READ MORE >
We are very excited to share that our own Sergii Iakymov, Director of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), has been chosen to join a 45-day NASA simulated Mars mission (Aug. 9 – Sept. 23) at the HERA analog facility at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Congratulations, Sergii! We wish you and your crew an incredible experience on your mission “to Mars!” NASA Research Volunteers to Begin Next Simulated Mission to Mars [NASA Announcement, 07.22.24] NASA selected a new team… READ MORE >
The Annual International Mars Society Convention features plenary talks and panel discussions with top experts in Mars and space exploration, the commercial space industry, technological development, and space advocacy. To give more enthusiastic professional & non-professional speakers a chance to participate, the Mars Society also includes 30-minute track talk presentations during afternoon sessions. This year’s event will showcase several dozen track talk speakers, such as: – Angelina Tsuboi: Architecting Marsnet: Interplanetary Internet Design for Mars and Beyond – Jay Garg:… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is excited to announce that Dr. Agnieszka Wendland, an Assistant Professor at Warsaw University of Technology, will be delivering a (virtual) plenary talk at the 27th Annual International Mars Society Convention this August. Her presentation, titled “The First Tree on Mars,” is part of a new multi-authored research project led by NASA’s Dr. Chris McKay. The project explores the possibility of warming the Red Planet by increasing its CO2 density and introducing greenhouse gases like perfluorocarbons (PFCs),… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Bryan Versteeg, an award-winning conceptual designer, will be presenting at the 27th Annual International Mars Society Convention, taking place this August at the University of Washington in Seattle. Mr. Versteeg will deliver a talk titled “Future Habitats: Simulating the Path to Human Space Settlement.” His presentation will explore the innovative use of video game engine tools to enhance awareness and education about space exploration, focusing on both planetary surfaces and free space… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is thrilled to announce that Ashton Zeth, the dynamic host of our successful Red Planet Live (RPL) podcast, has been appointed the new Director of the Mars Society Ambassador program. Initially launched in 2020 by veteran space advocate, public speaker, and author James Melton, the program is a professional team of volunteer advocates from around the globe. Their mission is to elevate public awareness and support for landing human explorers on Mars within a decade, eventually leading… READ MORE >
David Down, a member of our Mars Society Facebook group page, recently used an AI chatbot called Poe to compose a poem about the first people landing on the Red Planet. It’s quite impressive. Here it is. Red Planet Pioneers Across the void of space they flew, Brave souls in vessels tried and true. Months of travel, dreams in sight, Mars growing larger, day and night. The rusty surface drawing near, Hearts racing fast with hope and fear. Descent begins,… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is delighted to announce that a new breakthrough concept that could open the way to terraforming the Red Planet will be presented at the 27th Annual International Mars Society Convention, which will be held at the University of Washington in Seattle, August 8-11. Developed by a team led by University of Chicago Prof. Edwin Kite and in collaboration with Prof. Hooman Mohseni‘s research group at Northwestern University and Prof. Ramses Ramirez at the University of Central Florida,… READ MORE >