The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Setthivoine You, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Helicity Space, will discuss his company’s Helicity Drive, a novel fusion drive concept, during the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, set for October 14-17, 2021. Helicity Space is developing an in-space fusion propulsion and power technology, critical to enabling humanity’s access to the solar system, with a Helicity Drive-powered flight to Mars expected to take two months, without planetary alignment. Dr. You received… READ MORE >
Topic Area: The Mars Society
The Mars Society invites potential sponsors to support the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled to be held virtually October 14-17, 2021. Last year’s online Mars Society convention was a record-breaking success, with 1 million live stream viewers and over 10,000 attendees. 150 speakers gave presentations and also participated in panel discussions and public debates. The four-day virtual event will feature a variety of key experts in the fields of government, business, academia, military, media, and philanthropy who will… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Karl Stapelfeldt, Chief Scientist for NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program, will be giving a virtual presentation about the ongoing search for planets orbiting other stars during the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17, 2021. Working at JPL in California, Dr. Stapelfeldt is involved in refining the content and direction of NASA exoplanet missions, technology developments, and scientific research. Over his 30-year career, he has been a member of… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is very pleased to announce that the winner of this year’s Mars Society Poster Contest is Olivier Gourdon of France. He is a designer and artist by trade, currently serving as a workshop manager in the graphic industry, and having previously worked in the newspaper and communication agency field. Olivier also was part of a French team in the 2020 Mars City State Design Competition. Graphic artists who participated in our annual design contest were asked to submit… 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 >
Today, the Mars Society was selected to receive a $1 million grant from Blue Origin’s Club for the Future. This generous grant will allow us to expand all of our activities, including conferences, publications, STEM outreach, engineering competitions, and student participation as crew members at our Mars analog research stations, helping us to learn how best to explore the Red Planet by engaging in comparable field exploration in some of the most Mars-like environments on Earth. “Our recent auction for the first seat on… 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 >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Elizabeth Turtle, Principal Investigator of NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft-lander mission to Saturn’s largest moon Titan, will give a virtual update about the spacecraft during the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, set for October 14-17, 2021. Scheduled for launch in 2026 and arrival in 2034 and taking advantage of Titan’s dense atmosphere and low gravity, Dragonfly will explore dozens of locations across the moon’s frozen surface, sampling and measuring the composition of its organic materials, with… READ MORE >
We are pleased to introduce our new Red Planet Live video podcast – a raw, off the cuff look into all things Mars. We will talk with planetary scientists, STEM industry experts, members of academia, and space advocates who all have a deep passion for the Red Planet. Ron Craig will host the show on behalf of the Mars Society, and will lead and moderate tantalizing discussions with our guests every month as we dig into the questions and work being… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that there are three volunteer internship opportunities available for the upcoming 2021-22 field season at the Mars Desert Research Station in southern Utah. Two are student positions which require a minimum month-long commitment on-site, and should be done in collaboration with the student’s academic institution as part of an independent study program. The first opportunity is designed for biology majors and requires the student to be on-site in December 2021 to do field… READ MORE >
Barbara Belvisi, CEO & founder of Interstellar Lab, Inc., will give a virtual plenary address about her company and its mission at the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17, 2021. Established in 2018 and located in Los Angeles and Paris, Interstellar Lab develops bio-regenerative modules and life-support solutions to make human life sustainable on Earth, Mars and throughout the solar system. Ms. Belvisi started her career as an investment manager in a FoF management company, then… READ MORE >
Crew 235, Mars Desert Research Station The following is the final summary report of Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) Crew 235. At the start of our mission, nine strangers came together with different hopes and expectations, all with the same end goal – come together with other like-minded individuals within the education community and emerge with new skills or ideas. Amazingly, every step of our journey together built the outcome that would meet and exceed everyone’s expectations. Many of the crew interactions… 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 >
For over a year, the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) has been nearly as quiet as Mars itself. Normally MDRS is a revolving door for teams of scientists, engineers, physicians, journalists, etc. to research, record, and reflect at one of the leading Martian simulations in the world. MDRS prides itself in being safety first and administration took quick and appropriate action to protect its simulation participants and staff from what the world soon came to know as a global health… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Hecht, Principal Investigator for NASA Perseverance’s MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) instrument, will give a virtual address about the project to the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17, 2021. As part of the growing list of “firsts” for NASA’s Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars, MOXIE successfully converted air from the Red Planet’s thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen in April, laying the… READ MORE >
Support Mars Advocacy & Show Us Your Creativity The Mars Society, the world’s largest space advocacy group dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, invites members, friends, students, space advocates, and the general public to submit a creative poster for consideration as part of its annual design competition. As always, the winning poster design will be used as the primary promotional graphic for the organization’s main event of the year – the 24th Annual International Mars… 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 >
Register Today! The 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention October 14-17, 2021 (A Virtual Event) The Mars Society was founded more than two decades ago to further the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet. The International Mars Society Convention presents a unique opportunity for those interested in the planet Mars to come together and discuss the science, technology, social implications, philosophy and a multitude of other aspects of Mars exploration. Last year, in the face of the COVID epidemic,… READ MORE >
Challenge Democratize access to scientific education on a global stage For the last several years, the people of planet Earth have been navigating a Fourth Industrial Revolution, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). The idea is that humanity is experiencing a, “fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.” Within this context, there’s a natural social pressure to increase the pace and scale of STEAM education (science and technology, interpreted through engineering and the arts, based… READ MORE >
Dear Friend, As many of you know, the theme of the 2020 International Mars Society Convention, held virtually over the course of four days in October, was “Rising Together.” We felt that “Rising Together” was a very poignant call to action as we navigate this global pandemic. We believe that humanity can work together on issues of great importance, especially those that impact our long-term future and survival. The Mars Society strongly believes that becoming multiplanetary is a critically important… READ MORE >
It’s #GivingTuesday (December 1st), an international day of charitable gifting occurring on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. As the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy group dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, the Mars Society is leading the way in educating the public, the media and the government on the benefits of exploring Mars and creating a permanent human presence there. Help us continue with and expand on this important work by making a one-time or recurring… READ MORE >
Due to the current surge in COVID-19 cases around the world and, in particular, in the United States and Utah, a decision has been made to delay the beginning of the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station field season until February 2021. According to experts, the next three months are expected to be the hardest of the pandemic, and MDRS management, led by Dr. Shannon Rupert, wants to ensure that all crew members stay safe and well throughout that time…. READ MORE >
The Mars Society concluded its four-day 2020 Virtual Mars Society Convention on October 18th, setting a new event record with over 10,000 registered attendees for the online forum, together with 150 speakers. Worldwide viewership of the conference was well over 100,000 people, being watched on YouTube and Facebook. Attendify, one of the leading U.S. tech companies involved in digital and event marketing, recently applauded the Mars Society’s virtual event, commenting in an online post, “We’re so honored to have such… READ MORE >
The Mars Society, the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy group dedicated to human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, has dozens of chapters in the U.S. and around the globe. These chapters are involved in a variety of space advocacy and educational outreach projects, including convening public events, hosting Mars sci-fi movies, actively promoting humans-to-Mars on their social media platforms, organizing STEM initiatives and much more. To learn more about Mars Society chapters and their activities around… READ MORE >
The Mars Society announced the winners of its international dual design contest for creating a special logo for a patch and t-shirt to be used by crew members at the Utah-based Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), the largest and longest-running Mars analog program in the world. The winner of the competition to create an official MDRS crew patch is Ognian Ivanov of Bulgaria, while the winner of the contest to design a logo for an official MDRS crew t-shirt is… READ MORE >