Mars Society Australia (MSA), in conjunction with the Andy Thomas Foundation, led a public workshop recently at the Australian Space Discovery Centre in Adelaide to discuss plans for establishing the Mars Arkaroola Research Station (MARS) in Australia. Speakers included Prof. Caroline McMillen, the Chief Scientist for South Australia, as well as industry and space agency representatives. Also joining in virtually were Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin, discussing the vision of humans-to-Mars, and Mars Desert Research Station Director Dr. Shannon… READ MORE >
Topic Area: Mars
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Jan Millsapps, a veteran filmmaker and Professor Emeritus of Cinema at San Francisco State University, will give a presentation during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention (October 20-23, 2022 at ASU in Tempe) about Model Mars, a unique, interdisciplinary STEAM learning platform that invites young people from around the world to create their own futures as virtual settlers living in simulated communities on Mars. Launched in early 2022 by Dr. Millsapps and co-developers… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is very pleased to announce that Antonella Berti Benza has won first place in the 2022 Mars Society Poster Contest! A resident of Córdoba, Argentina, Ms. Benza works in art direction and graphic design and illustration at Nellabe Art. Graphic artists who participated in this year’s design competition were asked to submit a poster using the theme “Searching for Life with Heavy Lift” as part of its overall composition. Current heavy lift spaceflight options include NASA’s SLS… READ MORE >
Astrobiologist & science communicator Dr. Graham Lau will appear on Red Planet Live, the Mars Society’s monthly video podcast hosted by Ron Craig, this Tuesday, January 18th (6:00 pm PT / 9:00 pm ET) to answer all your questions about the ongoing search for life in our solar system. With the latest research, scientists view not just the planet Mars as a possible abode for life, but also Venus, where biosignatures may have been detected in the planet’s atmosphere, and… READ MORE >
Dr. Carol Stoker, a senior scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center and one of the co-founders of the Mars Society, will be giving a virtual talk about the ongoing search for life on Mars on Wednesday, January 12th at 7:00 pm CT during a chapter meeting of Mars Society Chicago. Dr. Stoker has been involved with Ames for 36 years, specializing in a range of Mars exploration science and technology. Most of her recent work has focused on developing… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Nathaniel Putzig, Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Colorado, will be giving a virtual plenary talk about exploring for buried water ice on the planet Mars during the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17. As deputy team leader for NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Shallow Radar (SHARAD) instrument, Dr. Putzig will present the latest results from the Mars Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM) Project, which involves… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Penelope “Penny” Boston, a senior NASA astrobiologist and geomicrobiologist with extensive experience in extreme environments, will give a virtual plenary talk during the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17. The title of her address will be “Astrobiology by Any Other Name… What Do We Mean by a Search for Something as Undefined as ‘Life’?” Currently, Dr. Boston is involved in science integration broadly across the NASA sciences… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that veteran astrobiologist Dr. Charles Cockell, will give a virtual plenary address at the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention (Oct. 14-17) about the concept of “engineering a free Mars” by reviewing how humanity can “use engineering to drive extraterrestrial society away from tyranny and toward freedom.” As Chair of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics & Astronomy, Dr. Cockell’s research group focuses on the study of life in extreme… READ MORE >
Dr. Carol Stoker, a veteran planetary scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center and a founding member of the Mars Underground, will give a virtual plenary address entitled “The Search for Life on Mars: What We Are Doing & What We Should Do” during the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17, 2021. Dr. Stoker has been involved with the Ames Research Center for 36 years, specializing in a range of Mars exploration science and technology. Most of… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Katie Stack Morgan, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Deputy Project Scientist for NASA’s Perseverance rover, will provide an update about the mission’s current work exploring the Martian surface as well as future planning during the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17, 2021. The Perseverance rover landed on the planet Mars earlier this year in February, with the goal of searching for signs of ancient life and collecting samples of… READ MORE >
With the Ingenuity helicopter continuing to operate on Mars, NASA has begun expanding its planning for additional aerial exploratory missions. As such, the Mars Society is very pleased to announce that NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Green will be giving a virtual plenary address about “the future of flying on the Red Planet” during its 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17, 2021. As a veteran planetary scientist and physicist, Dr. Green was appointed Chief Scientist at… READ MORE >
By Dr. Robert Zubrin, Nautilus, 05.12.21 In the late afternoon of May 5, SpaceX’s Elon Musk tweeted, “Starship landing nominal!” Musk is not known for understatement. But seeing that stainless steel behemoth soar was, for many, something more like phenomenal. Over 5 million people watched the spectacle on YouTube, perhaps many with bated breath, as every prior attempt at landing Starship had gone up in flames. Not SN15. This Starship, after having climbed 12 kilometers and then coasted down in a “belly… READ MORE >
Dr. Chris McKay, a senior planetary scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center and one of the co-founders of the Mars Underground, will virtually address the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17, 2021, about the concept of terraforming the planet Mars. A renowned astrobiologist and expert on planetary atmospheres and terraforming, Dr. McKay’s research focuses primarily on the evolution of the solar system and the origins of life. He is also involved in planning future Mars missions, including human… READ MORE >
By Dr. Robert Zubrin, SpaceNews, 04.07.21 The key is developing a 10-ton lander The triumphant landing of the Perseverance rover has inspired all Americans, and indeed much of the world. President Biden should follow it up by launching the program to send humans to Mars. While robotic rovers are wonderful, they cannot resolve the fundamental scientific questions that Mars poses to humanity, which relate to the potential prevalence and diversity of life in the universe. The early Mars was very much like… READ MORE >
The 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention, an online virtual event involving some of the world’s top leaders and experts on Mars and space exploration, begins tomorrow (Oct. 15th) and runs through Sunday (Oct. 18th). With 150 speakers and over 5,000 people registered to attend, the four day global conference will bring together key scientists, commercial space executives, government policymakers and space advocates to discuss the latest scientific developments and challenges related to the exploration of Mars and the eventual… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is very pleased to announce that Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator, will be joining us virtually during the 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention on Saturday, October 17th at 10:00 am PST (1:00 pm EST, 18:00 GMT) to give an update on “NASA’s plans for the Moon and Mars.” Mr. Bridenstine assumed the leadership of NASA in April 2018 and quickly launched an initiative to renew lunar exploration via the Artemis program, with plans to land the first… READ MORE >
Every week, more and more news stories appear about the possibility of discovering extra-terrestrial life beyond the Earth. Scientists around the world are focusing (primarily) on the planet Mars, the clouds of Venus and a handful of the moons orbiting the Jovian planets as possible homes for life. As part of its 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention (to be held virtually this year), the Mars Society has organized a special panel discussion on the search for life in our… READ MORE >
By Dr. Robert Zubrin, National Review, 01.09.20 Fears that water-consuming microbes from the Red Planet would desiccate Earth are absurd. In a special issue, the last of 2019, the web magazine Quillette deals with the exploration and settlement of Mars. The issue includes contributions from Michael Shermer, Cathy Young, and Michael Solana, all of whom address the question of future governance on the Red Planet. The topic might seem to some to be far-fetched, but it nevertheless provides these able conservative and libertarian writers ample scope… READ MORE >
We’re looking for Mission Support (CapCom) staff who are willing to volunteer remotely, giving their time and commitment to assist crews participating in analog missions at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. Apart from the personal reward you will gain from having helped to contribute to space exploration and humanity’s great future achievement of reaching the Red Planet, additional benefits include: * Scholarships for future involvement in a MDRS crew. * Free signed copies of Dr Zubrin’s… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Kris Zacny, Vice President & Director of Exploration Technology at Honeybee Robotics, will speak about planetary drills and sampling systems on Mars and the Moon during the 22nd Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 17-20 at the University of Southern California. Honeybee Robotics is a long-time supporter of NASA’s exploration missions. The company’s systems for drilling, coring and physical sampling of Mars, the Moon, and asteroids are designed to support scientific inquiry and… READ MORE >