Fifteenth Annual INTERNATIONAL MARS SOCIETY CONVENTION

August 3-5, 2012 at the Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, California

The Mars Society was founded to further the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet.  The Annual International Mars Society Convention presents a unique opportunity for those interested in Mars to come together and discuss the technology, science, social implications, philosophy and a multitude of other aspects of Mars exploration. 

Highlights of the convention will include the latest results from the Opportunity, Mars Express, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Phoenix missions, with the climax being the landing of the Mars Science Lab Curiosity which will be witnessed live on the final evening of the convention.  Attendees will also get first-hand reports from the latest mission simulation at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island, 900 miles from the North Pole, and the eleventh season of the Mars Desert Research Station.  

There will also be extensive political discussions on how we can reverse the decision of the Obama administration to cancel the joint U.S.-European Mars missions previously agreed to for flight in 2016 and 2018 and moving beyond that, take the offensive to turn NASA's now chaotic space policy into a real exploration initiative that can get humans to the Red Planet in our time.