With the growth of China’s space program in recent years and the potential for global competition in orbit and beyond, the Mars Society has invited Dean Cheng, senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace’s China program, to give a plenary talk about Beijing and it plans for space exploration during the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention October 5-8, 2023 at Arizona State University (Tempe). Mr. Cheng joined USIP from The Heritage Foundation, where he spent over a decade… READ MORE >
Topic Area: Science
Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin will speak on Sunday, June 18th at the InScience Conference in Kyiv. InScience is the largest science gathering held in Ukraine yearly. The theme of this year’s conference is “Science for Victory, Science to Rebuild Ukraine.” The title of Dr. Zubrin’s talk will be “Victory from Space.” Following the talk, Dr. Zubrin will take part in a number of private meetings and do some press interviews as well. He and his wife Hope will… READ MORE >
After 3 days of incredible competition, the 2023 University Rover Challenge (URC2023) crowned a new champion, Team Mountaineers from West Virginia University in the U.S.! This was the first URC podium finish for Team Mountaineers, and the second consecutive victory by a team from the United States. Also for the second consecutive year Monash Nova Rover (Monash University, Australia) finished in second place. The BYU Mars Rover team from Brigham Young University (USA) finished in third place. Team Mountaineers (West… READ MORE >
The Mars Society’s latest publication, “Telerobotic Mars Expedition Design: New Ways to Explore Mars”, a 152-page paperback / e-book published by Polaris Books and edited by Frank Crossman, is now available for purchase online at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. In January 2022, the Mars Society announced the holding of an international contest – Telerobotic Mars Expedition Design Competition – for the best design plan of diverse teams of specialized robots using a 10-metric ton Mars lander, an essential requirement… READ MORE >
Red Planet Live will be welcoming James Burk, Mars Society Executive Director and veteran analog astronaut, to the show just days after the completion of Crew 261’s two-week simulation, which he is currently commanding at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah until May 13th. Join us three days later – Tuesday, May 16th (5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET) – for another one-hour podcast episode hosted by Ashton Zeth to learn from James about his and the crew’s mission “on Mars”…. READ MORE >
Presentations for the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention, set for Thursday-Sunday, October 5-8, 2023 at Arizona State University in Tempe, are invited. This year’s four-day global forum will deal with all matters associated with the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, including science, technology, engineering, politics, public policy & advocacy, STEM education, economics, etc. Abstracts between 150-300 words can be uploaded on our Mars Society convention web site at: abstracts.marssociety.org. Please note that the deadline for submitting abstracts… READ MORE >
Former NASA Chief Scientist Dr. James Green will join Red Planet Live host Ashton Zeth on Tuesday, April 18th (5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET) for a one-hour discussion about exploring Mars and the solar system, a return to the Moon via the Artemis program, the search for life, and much more. Dr. Green worked at the U.S. space agency for 42 years before retiring in December 2022. During his long career at NASA, he held the position of Chief Scientist and was… READ MORE >
A new science project begun by ALFA Mars (Agnostic Life Finding Association – Mars), a group of scientists, engineers, science communicators, and volunteers aiming to determine prior to initial human exploration of the red planet whether or not indigenous life is present today on Mars, has received the public backing of the Mars Society, the world’s largest space advocacy group dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of Mars. “We believe that ALFA Mars offers a new and important approach… READ MORE >
After the most competitive System Acceptance Review in University Rover Challenge (URC) history, a record 37 teams from 10 countries will compete at the URC2023 Finals, scheduled to be held June 1-3, 2023 at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah! 104 teams (also a record) began the year competing for a coveted invitation to the URC Finals. Teams submitted both written reports as well as video demonstrations of their rovers, which were scored by URC’s… READ MORE >
Crew 275 – ISAE-Supaero (France) Crew Commander: Jeremy RabineauExecutive Officer / Crew Engineer: Quentin RoyerCrew Journalist: Marie DelarocheHealth & Safety Officer: Corentin SenauxCrew Botanist: Adrien TisonCrew Scientist: Alice ChapironCrew Astronomer: Alexandre Vinas Introduction Crew 275’s rotation on the MDRS campus marks the 10thh time that students from ISAE-Supaero perform research in this station. We are very proud of the progress made between Crew 151, when two Supaero students joined an existing crew, and today: a fully student-run crew, conducting research over… READ MORE >
We’re glad to announce that members of Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) Crew 269, led by their commander Dr. Kristine L. Ferrone, are set to appear on the next episode of the Mars Society’s Red Planet Live (RPL) podcast, scheduled for Tuesday, March 21st (5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET). A monthly one-hour video podcast hosted by Ashton Zeth, RPL brings together the people instrumental in planning for the exploration and eventual settlement of the red planet, covering a… READ MORE >
It is with excitement that the Mars Society announces the promotion of Dr. Shannon Rupert from her long-time role as Director of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah, the world’s largest and longest-running Mars analog facility, to the newly created role of Senior Director of Analog Research for the Mars Society. In this new role, Dr. Rupert will oversee a new Remote Science Team that will support the MDRS analog crews and will lead our efforts to… READ MORE >
A message from Mars Society Executive Director James Burk: I am pleased to announce our partnership with Million on Mars. Million on Mars is a game where you can explore creating and growing your own settlement on Mars. It is set in the 2070s, and the Ad Astra Unlimited corporation led by fictional character “Lane Dusk” has solved transportation, but the challenge is now on you – the brave settler of Mars – will you go hard on Solar or… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Sarah Milkovich of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be joining our one-hour Red Planet Live (RPL) video podcast with our new host Ashton Zeth on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 (5pm PST) to discuss current Mars robotic exploration as well as several Earth science projects she’s involved in for NASA. As a planetary geologist and systems engineer at JPL, Dr. Milkovich works on the Mars Perseverance Rover and with the Applied Earth Science Disasters program. She specializes in the science operations of robotic spacecraft,… READ MORE >
A new paper published by Andrew Terhorst & Jason A. Dowling in a leading science journal, Space: Science & Technology, cites our Mars Desert Research Station (Utah) as having published the second most peer-reviewed papers of any analog station around the world (with Mars-500 coming in first place) and with the MDRS facility having the most varied types of research. “The Mars-500 missions and the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) analogue generated the most peer-reviewed research publications (151 and 123 publications, respectively)…. READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce a number of opportunities to participate as part of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) Mission Support and/or Management Teams. There are plenty of opportunities to participate at MDRS other than as a crew member. If you would like to get involved in any capacity, or if any of the volunteer positions listed here interest you, please contact us. We would be delighted to have you join us. Remember, most of these volunteer… READ MORE >
Happy holidays from the Mars Society! We’d like to take a moment to celebrate our past year’s accomplishments and talk about our plans for 2023. We began the year by announcing the new Mars Society Ambassador Program. Over the course of this year, we have added over 50 Ambassadors from around the world. Led by Dr. James Melton, the Mars Society Ambassador program is meant to ramp up our outreach efforts as we work to inform, engage and inspire the… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Sarah Milkovich of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be joining our one-hour Red Planet Live (RPL) video podcast (hosted by Ashton Zeth) on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 (5pm PST) to discuss current Mars exploration as well as several Earth science projects she’s involved in for NASA. As a planetary geologist and systems engineer at JPL, Dr. Milkovich currently works on the Mars Perseverance Rover and with the Applied Earth Science Disasters… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Ashton Zeth will be serving as the new host of its video podcast, Red Planet Live (RPL), beginning in January 2023. The show will focus on a wide variety of topics, including Mars and space exploration, STEM education, technology, women in science, and much more, with exciting and open discussions involving experts in these respective fields. A Washington resident with experience in SaaS sales, strategic communications, business development, and public speaking, Ms…. READ MORE >
The Mars Society is calling for volunteers for a mission to reactivate its Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS). The FMARS is located on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic 900 miles from the North Pole in one of the most Mars-like environments on Earth. Since the early 2000’s, Mars mission simulations there have unmatched value in helping humans prepare to explore the Red Planet. The last mission to FMARS took place in the summer of 2017. The Mars Society… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is seeking applications from qualified people for onsite management positions at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, the largest and longest-running Mars analog facility in the world. The station is set amid some of the most spectacular landscapes you will ever see, and researchers come from all over the world to participate in our analog research & educational programs here. We are presently taking applications for Station Managers beginning immediately. You must be able to… READ MORE >
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 >
This past week, the Mars Society convened its annual international convention for the 25th year in a row, and the first time in-person since prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The theme of this year’s event was “Searching for Life with Heavy Lift”, which was meant to encourage out-of-the-box thinking of presenters and attendees to develop new systems that take advantage of the increased payload capacity that is coming with NASA’s SLS and SpaceX’s Starship. We worked with the excellent team… READ MORE >
In Person or Proxy to Mars and Beyond? By Larry Klaes, Guest Writer, Red Planet Bound In 1972, singer, pianist, and composer Sir Elton H. John (born 1947) released a song titled “Rocket Man”. This music piece, which was inspired by a Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) science fiction story of the same name, has an individual who sees his job in outer space not as some grand adventure as one might expect of a typical astronaut, but rather as ordinary and… READ MORE >
Celebrating its 25th Annual International Convention at Arizona State University in Tempe October 20-23, the Mars Society will be hosting, both in-person and virtually, a large contingent of senior representatives from NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), discussing the latest news about exploring Mars, planning for a human mission to the Red Planet, and much more. Leading off the NASA-JPL involvement at the four-day conference will be Dr. Jim Bell, an Arizona State University professor and a planetary scientist involved… READ MORE >