The Mars Society is excited to announce that a major panel discussion on NASA’s current and future Mars exploration plans will take place (virtually) on Friday, August 9th at 10:00 am PT / 1:00 pm ET as part of the 27th Annual International Mars Society Convention. Amid the growing complexities of Mars exploration, NASA is concentrating on several key areas: deploying robotic exploratory systems (rovers, landers, and orbiters), returning Martian rock and soil samples to Earth, and designing infrastructure for… READ MORE >
Topic Area: Mars sample return
The Mars Society is very pleased to announce that a distinguished three-person NASA panel will join the Red Planet Live (RPL) podcast on Tuesday, July 2nd at 5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET. This expert team will delve into topics including Mars exploration, strategies for sample returns from the Red Planet, and the architecture supporting Moon to Mars missions. Hosted by Ashton Zeth, this first podcast episode of July will mark the beginning of RPL’s new twice-a-month format (airing… READ MORE >
By Dr. Robert Zubrin, SpaceNews.com, 05.06.24 NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission has run aground, wrecked by a $10 billion price estimate, a 16 year timeline and excessive mission and programmatic risk. If the mission is to proceed, a much simpler and cheaper approach must be found. Fortunately, such an approach is available. The current MSR mission plan is so costly, complex, and risky because it has not been approached as a mission to be accomplished as swiftly and cheaply as possible,… READ MORE >
It’s time to consider alternatives to sample return By Robert Zubrin, Space News, 12.07.23 NASA’s robotic Mars exploration program is in crisis. A recent review of the plan of its flagship Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission pegged its cost at $10 billion, a price tag that threatens to preclude funding any other exploration missions to the Red Planet for the next decade and a half. While the decadal plan issued by a National Academy of Science committee identifies the MSR mission as… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Albert Haldemann, the European Space Agency’s Mars Chief Engineer, will be giving a virtual talk about Europe’s plans for Mars and space exploration during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 20-23 at Arizona State University (Tempe). Serving in this role within the Mars Exploration Group of ESA’s Directorate of Human & Robotic Exploration since 2020, Dr. Haldemann’s responsibilities include oversight of cooperation agreements and interface requirements with… READ MORE >
Ten missions have now been successfully landed on the planet Mars since 1976, including six rovers that have traversed across a total of more than 50 kms of terrain. Arizona State University’s Dr. Jim Bell has been the lead or deputy scientist in charge of the science cameras on NASA’s Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance rovers, providing him with an amazing front row seat for their photographic and geological adventures. The Mars Society will be welcoming Dr. Bell as a… READ MORE >