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NASA’s MOXIE PI Michael Hecht to Address 2021 Mars Society Convention

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Hecht, Principal Investigator for NASA Perseverance’s MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) instrument, will give a virtual address about the project to the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 14-17, 2021. As part of the growing list of “firsts” for NASA’s Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars, MOXIE successfully converted air from the Red Planet’s thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen in April, laying the… READ MORE >

Participate in the 2021 Mars Society Poster Contest

Support Mars Advocacy & Show Us Your Creativity The Mars Society, the world’s largest space advocacy group dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, invites members, friends, students, space advocates, and the general public to submit a creative poster for consideration as part of its annual design competition. As always, the winning poster design will be used as the primary promotional graphic for the organization’s main event of the year – the 24th Annual International Mars… READ MORE >

Build a Robot Base on Mars [Zubrin]

By Dr. Robert Zubrin, SpaceNews, 04.07.21 The key is developing a 10-ton lander The triumphant landing of the Perseverance rover has inspired all Americans, and indeed much of the world. President Biden should follow it up by launching the program to send humans to Mars. While robotic rovers are wonderful, they cannot resolve the fundamental scientific questions that Mars poses to humanity, which relate to the potential prevalence and diversity of life in the universe. The early Mars was very much like… READ MORE >

2021 Mars Society Convention – Dates, Registration & Abstracts
Mars with atmosphere visible

Register Today! The 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention October 14-17, 2021 (A Virtual Event) The Mars Society was founded more than two decades ago to further the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet.  The International Mars Society Convention presents a unique opportunity for those interested in the planet Mars to come together and discuss the science, technology, social implications, philosophy and a multitude of other aspects of Mars exploration.  Last year, in the face of the COVID epidemic,… READ MORE >

Beyond Luna (Blog)

By Evan Plant-Weir, Red Planet Bound Blog 02.24.21 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… READ MORE >

An Important Request from Dr. Robert Zubrin

Dear Friend, As many of you know, the theme of the 2020 International Mars Society Convention, held virtually over the course of four days in October, was “Rising Together.” We felt that “Rising Together” was a very poignant call to action as we navigate this global pandemic. We believe that humanity can work together on issues of great importance, especially those that impact our long-term future and survival. The Mars Society strongly believes that becoming multiplanetary is a critically important… READ MORE >

Donate to the Mars Society by Shopping on Amazon

With COVID-19, more and more people are obviously shopping online. Support the Mars Society while doing your holiday shopping on Amazon.com. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of Amazon Smile purchases to your favorite non-profit organization, the Mars Society. Help the Mars Society to maintain and expand its programs, including its two Mars analog stations in Utah and Canada, by doing your shopping via Amazon. To learn more, please visit: https://smile.amazon.com (and remember to select the Mars Society as… READ MORE >

Support Humans-to-Mars on #GivingTuesday!

It’s #GivingTuesday (December 1st), an international day of charitable gifting occurring on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. As the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy group dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, the Mars Society is leading the way in educating the public, the media and the government on the benefits of exploring Mars and creating a permanent human presence there. Help us continue with and expand on this important work by making a one-time or recurring… READ MORE >

Get Involved with Our Chapters!

The Mars Society, the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy group dedicated to human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, has dozens of chapters in the U.S. and around the globe. These chapters are involved in a variety of space advocacy and educational outreach projects, including convening public events, hosting Mars sci-fi movies, actively promoting humans-to-Mars on their social media platforms, organizing STEM initiatives and much more. To learn more about Mars Society chapters and their activities around… READ MORE >

Record-Setting Interest in 2020 Virtual Mars Society Convention

The Mars Society, the world’s largest space advocacy group dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, concluded its 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention on Sunday, setting a new event record with over 10,000 registered attendees for the online forum, which ran from October 15-18. The organization’s first virtual conference, held due to COVID-19, created a large public surge of interest among Mars and space advocates around the world, as leading members of the space community… READ MORE >

Breaking News: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to Speak Virtually at 2020 Mars Society Convention

There’s no better way to kick-off Day 1 of the 2020 International Mars Society Convention than with a big announcement: SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk will be joining us virtually tomorrow (Friday, October 16th) at 3:00 pm PDT (6:00 pm EDT) [PLEASE NOTE NEW TIME] to provide our global audience with a special update about SpaceX and its plans for the Moon and Mars. As a world leader in advocating for humanity to become a multi-planetary species, Mr. Musk… READ MORE >

Virtual Mars Society Convention Begins Tomorrow | Sign Up Now!

The 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention, an online virtual event involving some of the world’s top leaders and experts on Mars and space exploration, begins tomorrow (Oct. 15th) and runs through Sunday (Oct. 18th). With 150 speakers and over 5,000 people registered to attend, the four day global conference will bring together key scientists, commercial space executives, government policymakers and space advocates to discuss the latest scientific developments and challenges related to the exploration of Mars and the eventual… READ MORE >

New Items Added to Mars Society Online Store Prior to 2020 Virtual Convention

The Mars Society has recently added a number of new items to its Shop@Mars online store (https://store.marssociety.org), including products related to the 2020 International Mars Society Convention, scheduled to be held virtually October 15-18. A few of the new items currently being offered: An official convention t-shirt An official convention sweatshirt A Mars texture mask (COVID-19) An official convention mousepad An official convention poster The virtual store has six categories of products, including t-shirts, 2020 convention, accessories, drinkware, holiday cards… READ MORE >

Finalists Chosen in Mars City State Design Competition

Ten finalists have now been chosen in the Mars City State Design Competition. The finalists include teams from the U.S., Australia, France, Canada, Austria, Spain, and Germany. In February 2020 the Mars Society announced the holding of an international contest for the best design plan of a Mars city state of 1,000,000 people. There will be a prize of $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second, $2,500 for third, $1,000 for fourth and $500 for fifth. In addition, the top… READ MORE >

Exciting Program Itinerary for 2020 Virtual Mars Society Convention Now Online

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that its tentative program itinerary for the 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention, being held via the Internet Thursday-Sunday, October 15-18, has been released on its web site. With 3,500 people currently scheduled to attend the virtual conference, along with 150 speakers, the Mars Society invites you to join this important event next month to learn about current Mars exploration, plans for a human mission to the Red Planet in the near future… READ MORE >

‘Halfway to Mars’ – Mars Society Releases New Song Celebrating Humanity’s Recent Achievements in Space

In light of recent achievements in space and our continued efforts as a species to get humans on to the surface of the Red Planet, the Mars Society is thrilled to release an inspiring new song, ‘Halfway to Mars‘, that celebrates the work of the pioneers of Mars and hopes to inspire all of us to strive even harder. The idea for the song came about three months into the COVID-19 lockdown, when opera singer Oscar Castellino, in a chat… READ MORE >

Judges Needed for Mars City State Design Competition

The Mars Society announced in February 2020 the holding of an international contest for the best design plan of a Mars city state of 1,000,000 people. No less than 175 teams have entered the global competition. There will be a prize of $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second, $2,500 for third, $1,000 for fourth and $500 for fifth. In addition, the top 21 papers will be published in a new book “Mars City States: New Societies for a New… READ MORE >

Another Reddit AMA with Mars Society Pres. Robert Zubrin

Reddit AMA R/SpaceX Announcement How to Get to Mars – AMA with Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin – Saturday, June 27th (2:00 pm ET, 18:00 GMT) We’re pleased to announce that Dr. Robert Zubrin will be returning to r/SpaceX for another AMA on Saturday in conjunction with the Mars Society. While we’re sure that Dr. Zubrin needs no introduction for most of us here, for those of you who are new, Dr. Zubrin is of course the Mars Society President and… READ MORE >

Donate to the Mars Society via Amazon

Support the Mars Society while shopping on Amazon during these difficult times. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of AmazonSmile purchases to the Mars Society. To learn more, please visit smile.amazon.com (and remember to select the Mars Society as your charity of choice). Thank you (and Amazon) and stay safe!… READ MORE >

Mars City State Design Competition Announced

The Mars Society is pleased to announce the holding of an international contest for the best design plan of a Mars city state of 1,000,000 people. There will be a prize of $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second, $2,500 for third, $1,000 for fourth and $500 for fifth. In addition, the top 20 papers will be published in a new book “Mars City States: New Societies for a New World.” The city state should be self-supporting to the maximum… READ MORE >

Musk & Zubrin Meet in Texas

Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin visited Boca Chica, Texas yesterday to meet with SpaceX Founder & CEO Elon Musk. During their meeting, Mr. Musk explained his company’s extraordinary plan to begin the human settlement of the planet Mars, which was very much in evidence as hundreds of people were lined up outside the facility to join his team to build Starships. Dr. Zubrin asked Mr. Musk what the Mars Society could do to help his Mars effort and was… READ MORE >

Announcing Publication of “Mars Colonies: Plans for Settling the Red Planet”

In October 2018, the Mars Society announced that it was holding a special international contest called “The Mars Colony Prize” for designing the best plan for a Mars colony of 1,000 people. There would be a prize of $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second and $2,500 for third. In addition, the top 20 papers would be published in a new book – “Mars Colonies: Plans for Settling the Red Planet.” This is that book. The 580 page grey-scale softcover… READ MORE >

The Naysayers Are Wrong – We Should Go to Mars

By Dr. Robert Zubrin, National Review, 01.09.20 Fears that water-consuming microbes from the Red Planet would desiccate Earth are absurd. In a special issue, the last of 2019, the web magazine Quillette deals with the exploration and settlement of Mars. The issue includes contributions from Michael Shermer, Cathy Young, and Michael Solana, all of whom address the question of future governance on the Red Planet. The topic might seem to some to be far-fetched, but it nevertheless provides these able conservative and libertarian writers ample scope… READ MORE >

Mars Society Founder Makes Case for ‘Mars Direct’ Path to the Red Planet

By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 11.06.19 WASHINGTON — Both SpaceX and NASA have ideas about how to get humans to the Red Planet, but the founder of the Mars Society says there’s a better way to do it.  In a colorful talk here at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) on Oct. 23, Robert Zubrin made the case for his long-standing “Mars Direct” plan. Mars Direct, Zubrin argued, makes more sense than SpaceX’s current Starship architecture and the plans of NASA, which may use… READ MORE >