The scope and scale of Mars settlement is so significant that it can defy our intuitions. Generally speaking, thinking about endeavours on this scale does not come naturally to us. Especially for those that are new to the idea, it can feel detached from practical reality. The trick to shrinking this unwieldy concept down into an accessible format, is found by thinking a little bigger. We have to consider it within the broader context of history. In the Northwest corner… READ MORE >
For the past few weeks, an article has been circulating throughout the Mars science and exploration community that serves as a sharp reminder of how much work remains to be done in educating the public (and apparently journalists) on the subject of the red planet. ‘Mars Is a Hellhole’ seemingly aims to characterize the objective of a long term human presence on Mars as folly. By couching scary-sounding Mars factoids within a blatantly ad hominem swipe at Elon Musk, it… READ MORE >
Spaceward Bound Utah to be held at MDRS Analog Spaceward Bound is a NASA-funded program to train K-12 educators in how to engage their students in activities that will inspire careers in the space sciences by taking teachers into the field with scientists who are working on space-related research in a given location. First instituted by researchers at NASA Ames, today scientists involved in that early project are still organizing Spaceward Bound field expeditions around the world. Spaceward Bound Utah… READ MORE >
Humanity has some unfinished business with the Moon. The lunar surface has fallen back into the realm of the remote and unfamiliar for too long. The Apollo landings kindled a dream of an expansive, space-faring future for our species, and that vision continues to inspire us nearly a half century later. Though we have sustained an ember of that dream through crewed missions to the International Space Station, it diminishes a little with every passing year that we do not… READ MORE >
Dr. Shannon Rupert, long-time Director of the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, will give a virtual address entitled “Once a Martian, Always a Martian: Demographics and Stories of the People who have Crewed MDRS” during the 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 15-18. She will be sharing an analysis of the demographics of the researchers who have served as crew at the station over the last twenty years and providing some stories about… READ MORE >
A unique team of educators, designated as Crew 217, completed its one-week crew simulation yesterday at the Mars Society’s Utah-based Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), the largest and longest-running Mars analog facility in the world. Funded by the Utah NASA Space Grant Consortium, the NASA Spaceward Bound Utah program serves as a workshop for K-12 teachers to conduct field science under astronaut simulation conditions. This inaugural crew consisted of middle school teachers from Utah, Colorado and Connecticut and was led… READ MORE >
The Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) program, led by Dr. Shannon Rupert, is pleased to welcome our new crews to the Utah campus for the 2019-20 field season. During the course of the year, these dedicated crew members will be participating in important Mars analog research to help prepare human explorers for the challenges of visiting the Red Planet in the not too distant future. The following is the MDRS program itinerary for the coming year: Crew 214… READ MORE >
Among planetary bodies in our solar system, Mars is singular in that it possesses all the raw materials required to support not only life, but a new branch of human civilization. This uniqueness is illustrated most clearly if we contrast Mars with the Earth’s Moon, the most frequently cited alternative location for extraterrestrial human colonization. In contrast to the Moon, the Red Planet is rich in carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen, all in biologically readily accessible forms such as carbon… READ MORE >
By: Lorena Bueno, Guest Blogger Red Planet Pen (RPP) Blog, Issue #37 Crack open any mid-level science novel from the last 70 years and you’ll find, among fanciful descriptions of grand canals and sand-scattering weather systems, varied descriptions of what’s underfoot (or boot): Martian sand. Regolith, powder, basalt rock, even clay, hint at a time when Mars had enough water and geologic activity to create clay. As we plan our first trips to Mars on Earth with the Mars Desert… READ MORE >
Final Crew Report Mars 160 Mission (FMARS) Summer 2017 Hello from Mars, 火星からこんにちは (Kasei kara konnichiwa), Привет с Марса (Privet s Marsa), मंगल ग्रह से नमस्ते (Mangal grah se Namaste), Salutations Martiennes, This is the final crew expedition of the Mars 160 program. We are six people living in the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station(FMARS), in the Canadian High Arctic far from home. Over here we can only rely on ourselves. The nearest town is Resolute Bay, a one hour of… READ MORE >
Radiation Hucksters Strike Again By Dr. Robert Zubrin, Mars Society President, 06.08.17 According to a publicity campaign launched on behalf of a paper authored by University of Nevada Las Vegas Professor Frank Cucinotta, new findings show “collateral damage from cosmic rays increases cancer risks for Mars astronauts.” However an examination of the paper itself shows no discussion of experimental methods or results, because no experiments were done and no data was taken. Rather the much-ballyhooed paper is a discussion of… READ MORE >
Buzz Aldrin California Dr. Buzz Aldrin is one of the first two humans to have walked on the surface of the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 lunar mission in 1969. Since retiring from NASA, the U.S. Air Force and his position as Commander of the Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Dr. Aldrin has remained at the forefront of efforts to ensure a continued leading role for America in human space exploration. He has also become… READ MORE >
The following is the final report of Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) Crew 161. A full review of this year’s activity at the MDRS habitat will be presented at the 19th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled to be held September 22-25, 2016 at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. A call for papers for the 2016 convention has also been issued, with full details available on the Mars Society web site. MDRS Crew 161 Final Report Crew… READ MORE >
Among planetary bodies in our solar system, Mars is singular in that it possesses all the raw materials required to support not only life, but a new branch of human civilization. This uniqueness is illustrated most clearly if we contrast Mars with the Earth’s Moon, the most frequently cited alternative location for extraterrestrial human colonization. In contrast to the Moon, the Red Planet is rich in carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen, all in biologically readily accessible forms such as carbon… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Lucinda Offer has been appointed as the organization’s new Executive Director, a position she held previously from 2009-2012. Mrs. Offer’s appointment was approved during a recent meeting of the Mars Society Steering Committee. A high school science teacher by profession, Mrs. Offer has been at the forefront of Mars advocacy for more than a decade, having served as director of public relations and a senior officer for international development for the Mars Society,… READ MORE >