Dr. Shawna Pandya, a physician, scientist-astronaut candidate, and Director of the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences Space Medicine Group, will be delivering a plenary address during the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 5-8 at ASU (Tempe). Her talk, titled ‘Medicine for the Moon, Mars and Benefits for Earth,’ will cover her extensive research on medical guidelines for commercial suborbital spaceflight, space technologies that have benefitted terrestrial medicine, and psychological resilience and reproduction & sexuality in long-duration… READ MORE >
Topic Area: Science
The Mars Society announced today that it is launching an initiative to create the Mars Technology Institute (MTI), whose purpose will be to develop the technologies needed to settle the Red Planet. Commenting on the project, Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin said: “SpaceX and other entrepreneurial launch companies are already moving rapidly to develop the transportation systems that can get us to the planet Mars. What is needed is an institution devoted to developing the technologies that will allow… 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 >
With the fast-paced growth of Mars analog facilities and related research around the world, the Mars Society has invited Dr. Gernot Grömer, Founder and Administrative Director of the Austrian Space Forum, to give a plenary talk during the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention this October on the topic of “AMADEE-24: A 25-Nation Mars Analog Mission in the Caucasus Mountains.” Established in 1998, ASF (or Österreichisches Weltraum Forum in German) is an organization involving experts in the field of analog research… 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 >
During the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention, set for October 5-8, 2023 at Arizona State University (Tempe), the Mars Society and Debate to Educate will be convening the final round of a special debate held virtually on the issue of “Mars or Bust?” involving middle school and high school students from around the world. Debate to Educate, a prominent non-profit group that organizes international educational debates, and the Mars Society have scheduled a series of online debates on whether… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Kevin Sloan, Director of the Mars Society’s University Rover Challenge (URC), and several student team participants will be joining Red Planet Live host Ashton Zeth on Tuesday, August 15th (5:00 pm PT) to talk about the recent rover competition held in Utah, robotics, and STEM education. Launched in 2006, URC is the world’s premier robotics competition consistently drawing talented and promising university students from around the world. Held annually in the desert of… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to bring you several updates about the growing partnership between the Mars Society and Mongolia’s MARS-V Project, an initiative in Mongolia to build the next Mars analog simulation station in the Gobi Desert. The MARS-V Project has recently become the Mars Society’s first official chapter in Mongolia. This new initiative signifies the country’s alignment with a global community of scientists, researchers and space enthusiasts. As one of the coldest and most inhospitable deserts on Earth,… 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 >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Crew 15 has safely arrived on Devon Island in northern Canada to begin a four-week mission at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) involving scientific testing and field studies, along with repair and maintenance work on the main hab. The crew, a five-person multi-national team from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, will spend the first week at FMARS working to upgrade the facility, with the remaining days used… 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 >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that a five-person crew will be visiting the organization’s Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) on Devon Island in northern Canada in mid-July 2023 in order to reactivate the facility and conduct a two-week simulation in one of the most Mars-like environments on Earth just 900 miles from the North Pole. A multi-national team from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, designated as Crew 15, will spend approximately 7-10 days working… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Kris Zacny, Vice President and Director of Exploration Technology at Honeybee Robotics, will address the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention (October 5-8 at Arizona State University) about robotic space exploration and mining. Honeybee Robotics is a prominent R&D engineering company that creates advanced robotic systems for the most demanding environments and applications, both on Earth and in space. Industries served include spacecraft, planetary exploration, defense robotics, medical devices, mining, oil and gas,… READ MORE >
A Guest Post for the Red Planet Bound Blog by Kris Davidson, Crew Journalist for Transatlantic 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… 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 >
Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin will speak on Sunday, June 18th at the InScience Conference in Kyiv. InScience is the largest science gathering held in Ukraine yearly. The theme of this year’s conference is “Science for Victory, Science to Rebuild Ukraine.” The title of Dr. Zubrin’s talk will be “Victory from Space.” Following the talk, Dr. Zubrin will take part in a number of private meetings and do some press interviews as well. He and his wife Hope will… READ MORE >
After 3 days of incredible competition, the 2023 University Rover Challenge (URC2023) crowned a new champion, Team Mountaineers from West Virginia University in the U.S.! This was the first URC podium finish for Team Mountaineers, and the second consecutive victory by a team from the United States. Also for the second consecutive year Monash Nova Rover (Monash University, Australia) finished in second place. The BYU Mars Rover team from Brigham Young University (USA) finished in third place. Team Mountaineers (West… 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 >
Red Planet Live will be welcoming James Burk, Mars Society Executive Director and veteran analog astronaut, to the show just days after the completion of Crew 261’s two-week simulation, which he is currently commanding at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah until May 13th. Join us three days later – Tuesday, May 16th (5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET) – for another one-hour podcast episode hosted by Ashton Zeth to learn from James about his and the crew’s mission “on Mars”…. 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 >
Former NASA Chief Scientist Dr. James Green will join Red Planet Live host Ashton Zeth on Tuesday, April 18th (5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET) for a one-hour discussion about exploring Mars and the solar system, a return to the Moon via the Artemis program, the search for life, and much more. Dr. Green worked at the U.S. space agency for 42 years before retiring in December 2022. During his long career at NASA, he held the position of Chief Scientist and was… READ MORE >
A new science project begun by ALFA Mars (Agnostic Life Finding Association – Mars), a group of scientists, engineers, science communicators, and volunteers aiming to determine prior to initial human exploration of the red planet whether or not indigenous life is present today on Mars, has received the public backing of the Mars Society, the world’s largest space advocacy group dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of Mars. “We believe that ALFA Mars offers a new and important approach… READ MORE >
After the most competitive System Acceptance Review in University Rover Challenge (URC) history, a record 37 teams from 10 countries will compete at the URC2023 Finals, scheduled to be held June 1-3, 2023 at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah! 104 teams (also a record) began the year competing for a coveted invitation to the URC Finals. Teams submitted both written reports as well as video demonstrations of their rovers, which were scored by URC’s… READ MORE >
Crew 275 – ISAE-Supaero (France) Crew Commander: Jeremy RabineauExecutive Officer / Crew Engineer: Quentin RoyerCrew Journalist: Marie DelarocheHealth & Safety Officer: Corentin SenauxCrew Botanist: Adrien TisonCrew Scientist: Alice ChapironCrew Astronomer: Alexandre Vinas Introduction Crew 275’s rotation on the MDRS campus marks the 10thh time that students from ISAE-Supaero perform research in this station. We are very proud of the progress made between Crew 151, when two Supaero students joined an existing crew, and today: a fully student-run crew, conducting research over… READ MORE >