Presentations for the 27th Annual International Mars Society Convention are invited. This year’s four-day global forum (August 8-11, 2024 at the University of Washington in Seattle) will deal with all matters associated with the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, including science, technology, engineering, spaceflight, artificial intelligence, politics, public policy & advocacy, STEM education, economics, etc. Abstracts between 150-300 words can be uploaded on to our Mars Society abstract page. Please note that the deadline for submitting abstracts for consideration is Sunday,… READ MORE >
Topic Area: Mars Exploration
Calling all Mars and space advocates! Mark your calendars for the 2024 International Mars Society Convention, taking place Thursday, August 8th through Sunday, August 11th at the University of Washington campus (The HUB) in Seattle. This annual event, now in its 27th year, remains the premier global gathering focused on Mars exploration, human settlement planning, and cutting-edge space-related topics. The convention will bring together a diverse array of experts including scientists, engineers, aerospace executives, policymakers, journalists, and space enthusiasts to discuss humanity’s… READ MORE >
As part of his ongoing speaking tour in the United Kingdom, Dr. Robert Zubrin, President and founder of the Mars Society, will be giving a talk titled “The New World on Mars: What We Can Create on the Red Planet” at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland on Wednesday, January 24th (5:00-6:30 pm). Hosted by the school’s Space Sciences Society, the 90-minute lecture (including Q&A with the audience) is open to the general public. Advanced registration is required. Please use… READ MORE >
Large deposits of subsurface water ice two miles thick have been found near the Martian equator by the European Space Agency – ESA orbiter. This discovery could improve future prospects for human Mars settlement. Water Ice Buried at Mars’ Equator is Over 2 Miles ThickBy Keith Cooper, Space.com, 01.19.24 A European Space Agency (ESA) probe has found enough water to cover Mars in an ocean between 4.9 and 8.9 feet (1.5 and 2.7 meters) deep, buried in the form of dusty ice beneath the planet’s… READ MORE >
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 >
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 >
The Mars Society invites you to a special pre-recorded episode of its Red Planet Live (RPL) video podcast with host Ashton Zeth interviewing a number of speakers from the recent 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention at Arizona State University (Tempe). With Ashton serving as a senior volunteer during the Arizona conference October 5-8, a decision was made to schedule a series of brief recorded interviews with plenary and track talk speakers for the October show for streaming beginning Tuesday,… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Theodore (Teddy) Tzanetos, Manager of the JPL Mars Ingenuity Helicopter mission, will give a virtual plenary address this week during the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention at ASU (Tempe). The title of his talk will be “Ingenuity – The Martian Wright Flyer and Beyond.” In addition to supervising the Ingenuity helicopter mission at JPL, Mr. Tzanetos is also the Manager of JPL’s sample recovery helicopters to be used as part of… READ MORE >
The Mars Society will officially open its 26th annual international convention on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe October 5-8, serving once again as the world’s largest multi-day forum on Mars exploration, planning for human settlement, and cutting-edge topics related to space exploration, science, and technology. As always, the four-day Mars Society conference will convene a wide range of scientists, engineers, aerospace executives, government policymakers, analog astronauts, and space advocates to discuss and analyze the latest news about humanity’s plans for exploring Mars… READ MORE >
The Mars Society will officially open its 26th annual international convention two weeks from today on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe October 5-8, serving once again as the world’s largest multi-day forum on Mars exploration, planning for human settlement, and cutting-edge topics related to space exploration, science, and technology. As always, the four-day conference will convene a wide range of scientists, engineers, aerospace executives, government policymakers, analog astronauts, and space advocates to discuss and analyze the latest news… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that the official program itinerary for the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention is now available online. Check it out at: https://bit.ly/3LnO34W. The global forum, to be held at Arizona State University (Tempe) from October 5-8, will include dozens of talks by leading scientists, engineers, government policymakers, members of the media, and space advocates about the latest news about Mars and space exploration. A special panel has also been scheduled to outline the… READ MORE >
The Mars Society will officially open its 26th annual international convention one month from today on the picturesque Arizona State University campus in Tempe October 5-8, serving once again as the world’s largest multi-day forum on Mars exploration, planning for human settlement, and cutting-edge topics related to space exploration, science, and technology. As always, the four-day Mars Society conference will convene a wide range of scientists, engineers, aerospace executives, government policymakers, analog astronauts, and space advocates to discuss and analyze… READ MORE >
Dr. Robert Zubrin, President and founder of the Mars Society, will be making a special announcement during his upcoming appearance on the organization’s Red Planet Live (RPL) podcast, set for Wednesday, September 6th at 5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET. In addition to being the leading global advocate of humans to Mars, Dr. Zubrin is a respected aerospace engineer and prominent author and was the driving force behind the concept of Mars Direct – a proposal intended to produce significant reductions in the cost… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Greg Autry of the Arizona State University Thunderbird School of Global Management (TSGM) will give a plenary talk about the current state of NASA’s science budget and its likely impact on future plans for space exploration during the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention this October at ASU (Tempe). A Clinical Professor and Director of TSGM’s Thunderbird Initiative for Space Leadership, Policy, and Business and an Affiliate Professor with ASU’s Interplanetary… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Tiffany M. Morgan, Deputy Director of the Mars Exploration Program in NASA’s Science Directorate, will be giving a plenary address during the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention at Arizona State University (Tempe), set for October 5-8, 2023. The title of her talk will be “Exploring Mars Together, DRAFT Plan for a Sustainable Future for Science at Mars”. In her current role at the agency, Ms. Morgan provides program leadership in exploring… READ MORE >
With growing interest among the global scientific community in investigating caves and lava tubes on the Red Planet, the Mars Society has invited Dr. Wolfgang Fink, a senior researcher from the University of Arizona and CalTech, to give a plenary talk about this field of exploration during the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention October 5-8, 2023 at Arizona State University (Tempe). The title of Dr. Fink’s plenary address during the convention will be: “To boldly go where no robot… READ MORE >
By Kris Davidson, Guest Writer, Journalist, MDRS Crew 261 During the zenith of the Age of Exploration, spanning the 14th to 16th centuries, a captivating sway of the monstrous and mythical prevailed over cartography. This period, signified by insatiable curiosity, saw audacious explorers venturing into uncharted territories. The maps of that era, intricate renderings of the known and the unknown, served as essential tools for navigation and understanding Earth’s expansive geography. They bore witness not only to discovered territories but… READ MORE >
With the growth of China’s space program in recent years and the potential for global competition in orbit and beyond, the Mars Society has invited Dean Cheng, senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace’s China program, to give a plenary talk about Beijing and it plans for space exploration during the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention October 5-8, 2023 at Arizona State University (Tempe). Mr. Cheng joined USIP from The Heritage Foundation, where he spent over a decade… READ MORE >
The Mars Society’s latest publication, “Telerobotic Mars Expedition Design: New Ways to Explore Mars”, a 152-page paperback / e-book published by Polaris Books and edited by Frank Crossman, is now available for purchase online at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. In January 2022, the Mars Society announced the holding of an international contest – Telerobotic Mars Expedition Design Competition – for the best design plan of diverse teams of specialized robots using a 10-metric ton Mars lander, an essential requirement… READ MORE >
Presentations for the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention, set for Thursday-Sunday, October 5-8, 2023 at Arizona State University in Tempe, are invited. This year’s four-day global forum will deal with all matters associated with the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, including science, technology, engineering, politics, public policy & advocacy, STEM education, economics, etc. Abstracts between 150-300 words can be uploaded on our Mars Society convention web site at: abstracts.marssociety.org. Please note that the deadline for submitting abstracts… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that it will be holding its 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention on October 5-8, 2023 at the same location as last year’s highly-attended event – Arizona State University in Tempe! The four-day international forum will bring together key scientists, commercial space executives, policymakers, members of the media, government representatives, and space advocates to discuss the leading issues of the day related to Mars, space exploration, technology advances, as well as political-economic developments… READ MORE >
We decided to ask ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022, why humans should visit and explore the planet Mars. Here’s the response we received. 1. Mars is the most Earth-like planet in our Solar System, making it an ideal destination for exploration and possible colonization. 2. It is possible that life once existed on Mars, and evidence of this is still being sought. 3. Studying Mars’ geological features can provide insight into the formation… READ MORE >
A message from Mars Society Executive Director James Burk: I am pleased to announce our partnership with Million on Mars. Million on Mars is a game where you can explore creating and growing your own settlement on Mars. It is set in the 2070s, and the Ad Astra Unlimited corporation led by fictional character “Lane Dusk” has solved transportation, but the challenge is now on you – the brave settler of Mars – will you go hard on Solar or… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Sarah Milkovich of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be joining our one-hour Red Planet Live (RPL) video podcast with our new host Ashton Zeth on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 (5pm PST) to discuss current Mars robotic exploration as well as several Earth science projects she’s involved in for NASA. As a planetary geologist and systems engineer at JPL, Dr. Milkovich works on the Mars Perseverance Rover and with the Applied Earth Science Disasters program. She specializes in the science operations of robotic spacecraft,… READ MORE >
Happy holidays from the Mars Society! We’d like to take a moment to celebrate our past year’s accomplishments and talk about our plans for 2023. We began the year by announcing the new Mars Society Ambassador Program. Over the course of this year, we have added over 50 Ambassadors from around the world. Led by Dr. James Melton, the Mars Society Ambassador program is meant to ramp up our outreach efforts as we work to inform, engage and inspire the… READ MORE >