Mars Society President and founder Dr. Robert Zubrin is scheduled to visit Europe this month to participate in a series of public talks and panel discussions involving planning for human Mars exploration, the recent establishment of the Mars Society’s Mars Technology Institute (MTI), and the growing challenges facing humanity. The first two public events will occur in France while the next three will take place in England and Scotland. All of the scheduled gatherings are open to the general public, with registration required. As… READ MORE >
News & Announcements
December 28th, 2023
RPL Podcast to Welcome Back Astrobiologist Dr. Graham Lau
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Graham Lau, a popular astrobiologist and science communicator, will be returning to our Red Planet Live podcast for another virtual episode on Tuesday, January 16th (5:00 pm PT) to discuss the search for life on Mars and in our solar system and answer your questions about all things related to space. Dr. Lau serves as a Research Investigator at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science and Director of Communications for… READ MORE >
December 27th, 2023
NY Times Photo Collection about MDRS
The New York Times published an opinion guest essay – The Beautiful Desolation of Life on Mars – on Earth – about the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station and one of its recent analog astronaut teams – Crew 286 – in its print version and on its website. Two professional photographers – Andrea Orejarena & Caleb Stein – embedded with Crew 286 for four nights/five days during a two-week mission at the MDRS campus in southern Utah from November… READ MORE >
December 18th, 2023
Mars Technology Institute Year-End Fundraising Appeal
Be a Maker of History – Your Year-End Gift Can Change the Future! Dear Friend, As we approach the end of another remarkable year in the history of the movement to send human beings to Mars, we at the Mars Society reflect on the strides we’ve made and the journey that lies ahead. This is the year we began the Mars Technology Institute to accelerate our goals dramatically. The MTI will pioneer the technologies for the human settlement of the… READ MORE >
December 8th, 2023
Rethink the Mars Program (R.Zubrin – Op.Ed.)
It’s time to consider alternatives to sample return By Robert Zubrin, Space News, 12.07.23 NASA’s robotic Mars exploration program is in crisis. A recent review of the plan of its flagship Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission pegged its cost at $10 billion, a price tag that threatens to preclude funding any other exploration missions to the Red Planet for the next decade and a half. While the decadal plan issued by a National Academy of Science committee identifies the MSR mission as… READ MORE >
December 6th, 2023
Univelt Makes Grand Donation to Support MTI Fundraising Campaign
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Univelt Incorporated has made a grand donation of books to help support the ongoing crowdfunding campaign to launch the Mars Technology Institute. The Univelt Mars Library is a 14-volume set of historic books including: 1. The Founding Convention of the Mars Society – proceedings volumes in three parts, edited by Robert Zubrin 2. Strategies for Mars (invited papers by Carol Stoker), Volume 86, AAS Science and Technology Series 3.. The Case for Mars – proceedings volumes from 1984,… READ MORE >
November 27th, 2023
Mars Technology Institute Crowdfunding Campaign Launched!
The Mars Society has launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund the Mars Technology Institute (MTI). Settling Mars will require dramatic advances in biotech (to enable food production at scale on very limited land), artificial intelligence (to deal with a severe labor shortage), and advanced energy (to power an energy-intensive society without fossil fuels) as well as many other areas of research. The MTI will develop these technologies and commercialize them for use on Earth. This will benefit our home planet… READ MORE >
November 3rd, 2023
New Director Appointed to MDRS Analog in Utah
During the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention held in early October at ASU Tempe, it was announced that Sergii Iakymov, long-time assistant director of the organization’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), would formally assume the role of director of the Utah analog facility. In this position, Sergii is supervising MDRS crew selection and logistical support, station maintenance and resupply, and on-site mission support and crew rotation, as well as participating in select analog simulations and field research. Sergii is… READ MORE >
