Welcome to The Mars Society
This is the global and U.S. site for The Mars Society.
The Purpose of the Mars Society
- Broad public outreach to instill the vision of pioneering Mars.
- Support of ever more aggressive government funded Mars exploration programs around the world.
- Conducting Mars exploration on a private basis.
Founding Declaration
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Interested in finding out more about us? Read the Mars Society
FAQ.Mars Society News
Up one levelMatt Mountain, the Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, will be speaking at the 11th Annual International Mars Society Convention in Boulder. Dr. Mountain will be part of a special program at the Convention focusing on the Hubble Space Telescope. The timing of this program couldn't be any better. The HST servicing mission will be taking place just weeks after the convention.
CNN Coverage of Space in the US Presidential Election
A piece run this weekend on CNN covering the state of space policy in the 2008 U.S. presidential election featured commentary from Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin.
Nine teams of college students from 3 countries are preparing to prove that they have what it takes to build the next generation of Mars rovers at the 2008 Mars Society University Rover Challenge (URC). The contest, to be held June 5-7, 2008 at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah, will be sponsored by Raytheon. The 2008 URC will require the students to place their robotic creations through a series of four difficult tasks that will feature capabilities expected of future Mars rovers.
Member John Heasley Wins History Channel "Ideas From Our Teachers Contest" For Mars Program
Making use of materials including the History Channel's "The Universe: Mars, the Red Planet" and a Mars globe donated by the Mars Society, member John Heasley has created an award-winning educational program called "Making Martians" that will be included in an upcoming A&E channel magazine.
Time Magazine Features MDRS In "Pictures of the Week"
The Mars Desert Research Station is currently running in Time Magazine's "Pictures of the Week" section.
If you've never been to a Mars Society Convention or if it has been a long time since you've been to one, this is the year to attend. The Mars Society is on the move again, and we are planning a tremendous program this year.
In Memoriam: Lifetime Member Richard Sylvan
Richard Sylvan, Lifetime Mars Society Member, has died in his Georgia home.
The Mars Society is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Scott Horowitz and Richard Heidmann to our Board of Directors. These two distinguished gentleman will join an already prestigious Board that includes Dr. Robert Zubrin, Dr. Penelope Boston, and Declan O'Donnell.
Google April Fool's Joke Centers on Mars, Links to Mars Society
Just in time for April Fool's Day, Google has rolled out a supposed collaboration between Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin designed to "lead hundreds of users on one of the grandest adventures in human history: Project Virgle, the first permanent human colony on Mars."
It is our intent to highlight the activities of our numerous chapters around the world. They are all doing extraordinary work and are helping immensely in our effort to promote the concept of humans to Mars. At least once a month, we will highlight a chapter that has been maintaining a high level of activity or whose members have otherwise distinguished themselves.
The following is the summary report of Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) Crew 69, which recently completed its operations in southern Utah. A complete report on this year's field season at the MDRS will be given at the 11th International Mars Society Convention, which will be held at the University of Colorado, Boulder, August 14-17, 2008. Registration is now open at www.marssociety.org.
Final Test of German Mars Society's MIRIAM Engineering Module Successful
Another important milestone towards MIRIAM's planned June 14 launch was achieved yesterday with the successful completion of the vacuum primary functionality and system qualification test of MIRIAM's inflation systems deck here at the Institute of Space Technology at the UniBw.
Christian Science Monitor Features "A Mars Mission to Utah"
The Christian Science Monitor, a major international daily newspaper, is currently running a prominent feature on the Mars Desert Research Station as the top item in its "Learning" section.
Ten years have passed since the founding convention of The Mars Society in Boulder, Colorado. In that decade thousands of people have joined our ranks to promote the goal of getting humans to Mars. However, in the last few years, we have lost a number of you. Some have simply let their membership lapse, even though they are active members in their chapters. Others have let their membership slip because they felt that we were not responsive enough to our membership. Regardless of the reasons, WE WANT YOU BACK.
I knew Arthur Clarke, albeit from a distance, but on the basis of our limited acquaintance I can only support all the many commentaries from his closer friends as to what a truly fine man he was. Certainly, I shall always be grateful to him for his generous spirit in stepping forward and volunteering to write the preface to The Case for Mars, an endorsement which was substantially responsible for launching me into my current role.
Farewell to Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur C. Clarke passed away at his home in Sri Lanka on 19 March 2008. Bo Maxwell, Managing Director of the Mars Society UK and member of the international Steering Committee, had come to know Sir Arthur, and wrote a fitting tribute on the UK web site. Bo notes that "Sir Arthur always stayed abreast of of missions to Mars, and took a keen interest in the endeavours of the Mars Society."
The seventh crew of the current MDRS season, Crew 68, has completed its work, a summary of which follows.
Mars Society Members To Appear On History Channel's "Colonizing Space" March 11
On March 11, 2008, the History Channel will air an episode entitled "Colonizing Space" as part of their "The Universe" series. The episode includes interviews with the Mars Society's Dr. Robert Zubrin, NASA Ames scientist Chris McKay, FMARS crewmember Ryan Kobrick, and several other notable "Martians".
Another important milestone towards MIRIAM's planned June 14 launch was achieved on Thursday with the successful completion of the shaker qualification test of MIRIAM's inflation systems deck here at the Institute of Space Technology at the UniBw.
Mars Society Sends First Australian High School Teachers to Participate in NASA Spaceward Bound Program
The first Australian high school teachers to participate in the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) Spaceward Bound (SB) program will be travelling to the Desert Studies Centre, a space-related research station of the California State University located near Zzyzx in the Mojave Desert, California, on April 4-11.
Contained Smart Folders:
- Expired News — by Jean Lagarde — last modified 2007-06-05 00:50
- Expired news, newsletters, press releases (i.e. of mostly historical value).

