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Volunteers Needed @MDRS

Good at carpentry? Love assembling IKEA furniture? Consider volunteering at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah this fall to help install new upgrades to the facility’s Hab and Science Dome. Participate in our IKEA work crew from October 22 – 25. If you commit to helping out during the entire session, you’ll be able to stay overnight (3 nights) at MDRS in the crew quarters. Round-trip transportation will be provided from Grand Junction, Colorado to… READ MORE >

Mars InSight Project Manager to Give Update at Mars Society Convention

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Tom Hoffman, JPL Project Manager of Mars InSight, will address the 22nd Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 17-20 at the University of Southern California, to give an update about the lander’s ongoing mission. Mars InSight successfully landed on the surface of the Red Planet in November 2018 in order to examine the deep interior of Mars with the goal of helping scientists better understand how terrestrial planets are formed and evolve…. READ MORE >

Mars Society Now Accepts Donations in Bitcoin and other Digital Currencies

The Mars Society, the world’s largest non-profit dedicated to the human exploration of Mars, is pleased to announce that it is now able to accept Bitcoin and several other types of digital currencies as donations to further our goal of future human exploration and settlement of Mars. In addition, the organization is pleased to announce that it has received a large contribution of Marscoin, a digital currency similar to Bitcoin but focused on Mars. Additional donations of Bitcoin, Marscoin, Ethereum… READ MORE >

JPL Senior Scientist to Discuss Search for Life at Mars Society Convention

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Luther Beegle, JPL’s Deputy Division Manager for Science, will give an update about ongoing efforts to detect surface and subsurface life on the Red Planet during the 22nd Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 17-20 at the University of Southern California. A senior planetary scientist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dr. Beegle is involved in the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) mission, searching for and assessing past or present habitable environments… READ MORE >

Making the moon and Mars possible

Commentary by Dr. Robert Zubrin, Founder and President of the Mars Society Originally published in SpaceNews’ Apollo at 50 digital edition On July 20, 1989, the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, President George H.W. Bush got up on the steps of the National Air and Space Museum flanked by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins and declared that in the tradition of their great feat, he was declaring that the United States would now set its… READ MORE >

Next generation of rovers comes to Poland

To see the Red Planet up close you do not have to book an expensive flight into space. You just have to join almost 400 contestants from five continents who will come to Kielce in September to take part in the final of the international Mars robots competition, the European Rover Challenge. Apart from observing the teams’ struggles, visitors can expect a very attractive Science and Technological Show Zone as well as lectures and workshops both for younger and older… READ MORE >

Finalists Selected for Mars Colony Prize Competition

Ten teams, including entrants from the USA, Russia, Poland, France, Switzerland and Sweden, have been selected out of a field of 100 competitors as finalists in the Mars Society’s Mars Colony Prize design contest. Here is the list including links to their presentations on YouTube: Team/Organization’s Name COUNTRY CrowdSpace Russia/USA Emerging Futures LLC USA Ideacity Poland Kent Nebergall USA LET IT BE France/Switzerland MIT – Star City USA Team Bubolaq USA Team Dvaraka Sweden Wesley Stine USA Wroclaw University of… READ MORE >

Mars Society Rolls Out New Web Site

Today is the day! The Mars Society is launching its new official web site! After months of hard work by our technical volunteers led by our IT Director, James Burk, we are excited to roll out the new version of our organization’s main web site, located at: www.marssociety.org. As we are sure you will notice, visitors will have quicker and easier access to our web pages and content. To the point, navigating just got a lot simpler! In addition to… READ MORE >

MDRS Makes the Los Angeles Times

Life on Mars gets a test run in the Utah desert By David Kelly, Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2019 Hang a right a few miles past the Dirty Devil River, bump down Cow Dung Road, and the barren, red landscape beyond morphs from mere desert into something, well, otherworldly. Men and women in spacesuits and oxygen tanks pick their way around boulders. One collects soil samples. Another launches a drone. The aircraft hovers then drops. Whirring blades thwack the… READ MORE >

Call for Papers (2019 Mars Society Convention)

Presentations for the 22nd Annual International Mars Society Convention (October 17-20, University of Southern California) are invited, dealing with all matters associated with the human exploration and settlement of Mars, including science, technology, engineering, politics, economics and public policy. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent by August 31st, 2019 (please note new date) to ensure scheduling of sessions and inclusion in our printed conference materials. After this date we cannot guarantee that your session will be… READ MORE >

[National Review Op-Ed] Zubrin Critique of NASA’s Vendor-Driven Artemis Program

At Today’s NASA, Success Is Not an Option By Robert Zubrin National Review, 06.12.19 The Trump administration has proposed a bold new initiative, dubbed the Artemis Program, that will send astronauts to the Moon by 2024 and Mars by 2033. As detailed by NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine in a presentation on May 23, the program will include some 37 launches by 2028, kicked off by the maiden launch of the agency’s new Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift booster in October 2020…. READ MORE >

2019 University Rover Challenge Crowns New Champion

The University Rover Challenge (URC) awarded the title of World’s Top Mars Rover to the IMPULS team from Kielce University of Technology in Poland on June 1. The 2019 rendition of URC hosted 34 rovers and more than 500 students from ten countries at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah. URC is an annual competition which asks college students to design and build the world’s best Mars rover. The win for the IMPULS team, their first ever,… READ MORE >

Mars Society President Publishes “The Case for Space”

Mars Society president Dr. Robert Zubrin has published a new book. Entitled “The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Unlimited Possibility,” the book has received rave reviews in USA Today and Forbes. According to Glenn Reynolds, writing in USA Today: “In his new book …The Case For Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility, famed astronautical engineer Bob Zubrin talks about the how and the why of… READ MORE >

Semi-Finalists Selected for Mars Colony Prize Competition

25 teams, including entrants from the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Poland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and Israel, have been selected out of a field of 100 competitors as semi-finalists in the Mars Society’s Mars Colony Prize design contest. The Mars Colony Prize design contest challenged people from all walks of life anywhere in the world to design a 1,000 person Mars colony, with design criteria including technical merit (40 points), economic viability (30 points) and social, political, and aesthetic  considerations… READ MORE >

We’ve Got a Winner!! 2019 Mars Society Poster Contest

The Mars Society is very pleased to announce the winner of its 2019 Mars Society Poster Contest – Joseph Sweeney of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. In addition to being a creative designer, Joseph is a data analyst and program manager and is also the founder of ‘Aspiring Martians.’ Graphic artists who participated in the annual competition were asked to submit a poster using the theme “The Space Launch Revolution: Opening the Way to Mars” for the 22nd Annual International Mars Society Convention… READ MORE >

Zubrin Comments on New Independent Report on Human Mars Mission

According to an article by Jeff Foust in the April 18th issue of Space News, an “Independent report concludes that a 2033 human Mars mission is not feasible.” Foust reports: “STPI (the Science and Technology Policy Institute) at NASA’s direction, used the strategy the agency had laid out in its ‘Exploration Campaign’ report, which projects the continued use of the Space Launch System and Orion and development of the lunar Gateway in the 2020s. That would be followed by the… READ MORE >

[R.Zubrin Op-Ed] Lunar Gateway or Moon Direct? [4.17.19]

By Robert Zubrin Space News, 04.17.19 NASA has proposed to build a lunar orbiting space station, called the lunar Gateway, to use as a base for lunar exploration. This plan is severely defective. The Gateway project may be compared to a deal in which you are offered a chance to rent an office in Thule, Greenland, on the following terms: 1. You pay to construct the building. 2. You accept a 30-year lease with high monthly rents and no exit clause…. READ MORE >

Mars Society Announces New Podcast “Mars Talk” Highlighting Chapter Activities & Space News

April 15, 2019 The Mars Society has released the first episode in a new podcast series titled “Mars Talk” which will be available in both video and audio formats on the organization’s YouTube channel, via iTunes and the podcast’s website www.MarsTalk.org.  Billed as “a community discussion about humanity’s future in space”, the bi-weekly podcast will feature Mars Society chapter leaders and other guests to discuss the Society’s activities as well as those of individual chapters.  The podcast will also provide… READ MORE >

Robert Zubrin to Introduce New Book at SoCal Meeting

The Mars Society Southern California (SoCal) chapter is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a special event this Friday (April 19th) at 7:00 pm in Pasadena with Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin speaking about his new book, “The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility.” In his latest work, due out next month, Dr. Zubrin talks about the new space race, not involving rival superpowers, but rather competing entrepreneurs… READ MORE >

Happy Yuri’s Night from Mars

Members of Crew 208 (Medical Makers) recently celebrated Yuri’s Night 2019 at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah. Completing its 10-day field simulation this past weekend, the 5-member team was glad to join in the world-wide effort to commemorate humanity’s achievements in space exploration. Based in Canada, Medical Makers is a global community of innovators, patients, and healthcare providers who use low-cost technologies to make sustainable solutions to save lives, time and money…. READ MORE >

Mars Society China Takes Off

Following a whirlwind tour of eastern China by Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin and his wife, science educator Hope Zubrin, the Mars Society China has taken off. During the course of the week-long visit in late March, organized by Mars Society China Executive Director Angela Tingting Cui and her capable team, Dr. Zubrin gave a series of talks at Shanghai JiaoTong University and Beijing BeiHang University, “Case for Mars” book clubs in Jinan and Beijing and a Chinese space agency institute… READ MORE >

Zubrin Responds to New Pence-NASA Lunar Initiative

In response to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s NASA announcement in Huntsville, Alabama earlier today, Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin commented: Vice President Pence’s declaration of intent to land Americans on the Moon by 2024 was a welcome statement of resolve, vitally necessary to give the nation a human space flight program that is actually going somewhere. His call to put the base at the lunar South Pole is also welcome since that is where ice reserves can be… READ MORE >

Finalists for University Rover Challenge 2019 Announced

After the most competitive System Acceptance Review (SAR) milestone in the competition’s history, 36 teams from 10 countries have been selected as finalists to compete at the 2019 University Rover Challenge (URC), held May 30 – June 1 at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah! In each of URC’s 13 years, the student teams have continued to innovate and challenge each other to build the most advanced Mars rover possible. The SAR is a competitive milestone in which… READ MORE >

Mars Society President to Visit China

Dr. Robert Zubrin, President of the Mars Society, will be visiting China in late March to give a series of public lectures on planning for human Mars exploration and the importance of international cooperation in exploring space. He will also be attending the inaugural meeting of the Mars Society China chapter and discussing his premier book on Mars exploration, “The Case for Mars”, which was published in Chinese. For more details, please visit the Mars Society China Facebook page…. READ MORE >

Be Inspired ♦ Be Creative ♦ Design for Mars – The 2019 Mars Society Poster Contest is Underway

The 2019 Mars Society Poster Contest begins today. Members, friends, students and space enthusiasts are invited to submit a creative poster for consideration, with the winning design to be used as the main promotional graphic for the 22nd Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 17-20, 2019 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Those intending to create a poster for the annual competition are asked to incorporate the theme of this year’s convention – “The Space… READ MORE >