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Chapters Coordination Task Force
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The Space Show
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 levelBrookhaven National Laboratory Publication Features FMARS
Brookhaven Today, a regular publication of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, ran a major feature on the FMARS 2009 crew in yesterday's edition.
Lured by the call of arctic adventure, the six crew members of FMARS Expedition XII met in Denver over the weekend of June 13-14. Robert Zubrin conducted their pre-mission briefing, which also included discussions with an incredible staff of Mars Society volunteers who will provide critical mission support. Several crew members described this first face-to-face meeting as "inspiring."
A major article featuring FMARS 2009 crew member Kristine Ferrone made the front page of yesterday's edition of the Gainesville Sun, one of the primary newspapers for norther Florida.
This newsletter is jam-packed with information, from the Preliminary Schedule to Lodging, Transportation and The Great Mars Blitz registration for the upcoming Convention.
The Mars Society is proud to announce that we will be holding a program called "Exploration: An Historical Perspective" at the 12th International Mars Society Convention. This panel will discuss how lessons from exploration on Earth can provide valuable insights on how to proceed with the exploration of space. These lessons can also help us hone our message as we explain to Congress and the Administration why we must engage in an ambitious human space flight program.
On June 4, the U.S. House Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee slashed $670 million from NASA’s 2010 human exploration budget. While comments from Rep. Alan Mollohan, the chairman of the Subcommittee, indicated that the move was a “time-out” until the Augustine report is completed, too often so called “time-outs” or “pauses” become permanent cuts or new “baselines.” This then allows politicians to add funds and claim they have made an increase when the actual budget is lower, sometimes significantly, than it was before. If Congress allocates these funds to another program, do you seriously think that program will then give them back?
Mars Society President Robert Zubrin has a new article published in the IEEE Spectrum's special report, "Why Mars? Why Now?" that is freely available to the public.
On the afternoon of July 30th, 2009, The Mars Society will be conducting the Great 2009 Mars Blitz. We will be sending over 100 people to Capitol Hill to tell members of Congress and their staff why the United States needs to commit to an ambitious human space flight program that will get us to Mars in the 2020s.
The Mars Society would like to applaud the nominations of Major General Charles F. Bolden, Jr., (USMC, retired), former space shuttle astronaut, and NASA’s former Associate Administrator of the Office of Policy and Plans, Lori Garver, to serve as Administrator and Deputy Administrator, respectively.
With an impressive performance in the emergency navigation task and a solid finish in the site survey task, 2008 third-place finishers York University won this year's University Rover Challenge with a score that more than doubled second-place contestants Brigham Young University.
The third annual University Rover Challenge began in earnest today at the Mars Desert Research Station just outside of Hanksville, Utah, with participants from six colleges participating in a pair of events designed to test their rovers' ability to perform science and navigation tasks in a simulated Martian environment.
After months of hard work, eight teams of college students from North America and Europe are prepared to prove that their robotic creations are ready to work alongside future astronauts exploring the surface of Mars. The 2009 Mars Society University Rover Challenge (URC) will showcase the work of roughly 100 students aiming for the top prize as their rovers compete in a difficult array of tasks likely to be encountered on future space missions. The third annual competition will be held later this week, May 28-30, 2009 at the Mars Desert Research Station in southern Utah.
Funding Approved for TEMPO Balloon Drop
After weighing several options for expenditure levels in support of a TEMPO balloon drop, TEMPO and Mars Society leadership have set a budget for the project, allowing development to begin in earnest.
The Mars Society today announces the selection of six crew members, chosen to take part in a month-long Mars simulation on Devon Island in the Canadian arctic. This will be the twelfth crew to inhabit the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS), conducting a sustained program of field exploration while operating under Mars mission constraints. The simulation, conducted throughout the month of July, will provide the opportunity to conduct a range of research projects focused on understanding the technical and human factors which may be faced by the first human Mars explorers.
The Mars Society would like to congratulate the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-125) for their successful efforts repairing the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The Mars Society was the first advocacy group to promote and support the decision to fly this mission, and has consistently advocated for it for the past several years.
TEMPO Balloon Project Approved
The Mars Society will take a first step towards orbit by dropping a prototype of TEMPO³ from a high-altitude balloon.
The Mars Quarterly, the official magazine of The Mars Society, had its first two issues published electronically in online and email formats, and both met with critical acclaim and informational success. Thanks in part to that success, the third issue which will be published July 1, will be the first issue to be offered in both electronic and print formats.
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that there will be a viewing of the movie Roving Mars at our annual convention. On hand to provide commentary and insights will be the Director of Roving Mars, George Butler and Dr. Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator, Mars Exploration Rovers. This will be just one of many special programs that will be held at the 12th Annual International Mars Society Convention.
The Mars Society is pleased to announce the opening of 5 seats on the Steering Committee (SC) for a term of 2 years, beginning September 1, 2009 and terminating August 31, 2011.
Green Martians Indeed! To find the weight of something on Mars, you measure that mass on Earth and divide by three. To plan for the time to do a project on analogue Mars, you “take the time and multiply by three” quiped our Mission Director prior to our blast off for the Red Planet. Factor in afternoons of a Martian size dust storm on Sol 1, snow and rain on Sol 3, and more snow on Sol 5, but it wasn’t exactly a slow start.
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).
Twelfth International Mars Society Convention
Brookhaven National Laboratory Publication Features FMARS
