The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Vinton G. “Vint” Cerf, widely recognized as one of the founding fathers of the Internet, will deliver a plenary address at the 2026 International Mars Society Convention, taking place October 22–24 at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.
Cerf’s presentation will focus on an extraordinary technological challenge: developing an Internet that extends beyond Earth to Mars and eventually throughout the solar system.
Best known for co-designing the TCP/IP protocols with Robert Kahn, Cerf helped create the foundation of today’s Internet. His pioneering work has earned him numerous honors, including the A.M. Turing Award, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and National Medal of Technology. He currently serves as Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google.
Cerf has also spent decades working with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other researchers on the Interplanetary Internet and Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) — technologies designed to overcome the enormous distances, communication delays, and intermittent connections involved in transmitting data across space.
Such networks could eventually provide critical communications links between Earth, spacecraft, Mars orbiters, robotic explorers, and human settlements on the Red Planet.
During his convention presentation, Cerf will discuss the progress being made toward a solar system-wide Internet, the challenges that remain, and how this emerging communications infrastructure could support humanity’s expansion to Mars and beyond.
For registration, the full program itinerary, and additional information, visit convention.marssociety.org.
