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Star Harbor Academy CEO Maraia Tanner to Outline Pathways to Space at Mars Society Convention

The Mars Society is pleased to welcome Maraia Tanner, CEO of Star Harbor Academy, as one of its plenary speakers at the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 20-23 at Arizona State University (Tempe). Her address will focus on new pathways to space that are opening up for individuals through programs being created at Star Harbor. Star Harbor representatives announced earlier this year details of its planned 53-acre mixed-use development campus and training center to be built… READ MORE >

2022 Int’l Mars Society Convention Preliminary Schedule Now Online 

The preliminary program itinerary for the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for Thursday-Sunday, October 20-23, 2022 at Arizona State University (Tempe), is now available for viewing online. Visit https://bit.ly/3RSMptd to see the full four-day conference schedule (please note that the schedule is subject to change). This year’s Mars Society Convention will include interesting plenary talks, panel discussions, and public debates about the latest news on the exploration of Mars and planning for a human mission to the Red Planet,… READ MORE >

Join Us at Star Trek Las Vegas Aug. 25-28!

The Mars Society will have for the first time its own booth/display at The 56-Year Mission Las Vegas (previously Star Trek Las Vegas), scheduled for August 25-28 at Bally’s Hotel & Casino. Organized and managed by Creation Entertainment, the Las Vegas-based annual Star Trek convention will include a line-up of approximately 100 actors, such as William Shatner (“Captain Kirk”), involved in the historic science fiction television and film series. Supervised by Mars Society staff and volunteers, the organization will manage its own… READ MORE >

An Awesome Design Wins 1st Place in the 2022 Mars Society Poster Contest

The Mars Society is very pleased to announce that Antonella Berti Benza has won first place in the 2022 Mars Society Poster Contest! A resident of Córdoba, Argentina, Ms. Benza works in art direction and graphic design and illustration at Nellabe Art. Graphic artists who participated in this year’s design competition were asked to submit a poster using the theme “Searching for Life with Heavy Lift” as part of its overall composition. Current heavy lift spaceflight options include NASA’s SLS… READ MORE >

UA’s Marcia Rieke to Present Latest News about Webb Telescope at Mars Society Convention

With booming world-wide interest in NASA’s now operational James Webb Space Telescope, the Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Marcia Rieke, Principal Investigator for the Webb’s near-infrared camera NICRam, will give an address – “The Webb Telescope’s First Months: A Treasure Trove of Results” – during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention October 20-23 at Arizona State University (Tempe). Currently a Regents Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, Dr. Rieke focuses her research activities on… READ MORE >

Finalists Chosen in Mars Society’s Telerobotic Mars Expedition Design Competition

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that six finalists have been chosen in the Telerobotic Mars Expedition Design Competition (TMEDC), an international contest announced in January which asked the entrants to design the best set of robotic exploration hardware using a 10-ton payload Mars lander. The finalists include teams from the U.S., Canada, and Europe and are listed below: MIFECO Proposal – Robert Mills United States (Michigan) Carl Greenbaum United States (South Dakota) Moran_TMEDC_Team United States (Virginia) Innspace Team… READ MORE >

Honeybee Robotics VP Kris Zacny to Address 2022 Mars Society Convention

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Kris Zacny, Vice President of Exploration Systems and Senior Research Scientist at Honeybee Robotics, will give a plenary talk about robotic space exploration and mining at the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 20-23, 2022 at Arizona State University (Tempe). 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… READ MORE >

From the Executive Director

How You Can Help Humanity Get to Mars Many people ask me, “James, how I can help get human beings to Mars? I’m not a rocket scientist… I’m just a regular person!” I tell them that the Mars Society was founded on the principle that we need people from all walks of life to achieve our mission. From the beginning, we have been a grassroots organization powered by people from all cultures, with a wide variety of skill sets and… READ MORE >

Mars Society Invited to Participate in 2022 Star Trek Convention

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that the organization has accepted an invitation from The 56-Year Mission Las Vegas (previously Star Trek Las Vegas) to participate in this year’s event, scheduled for August 25-28 at Bally’s Hotel & Casino. Organized and managed by Creation Entertainment, the Las Vegas-based annual Star Trek convention will include a line-up of approximately 100 actors, such as William Shatner (“Captain Kirk”), involved in the historic science fiction television and film series. Supervised by Mars… READ MORE >

Sign Up for Telerobotic Mars Expedition Design Competition

The Mars Society announced recently the launching of a new international contest to design a telerobotic Mars expedition. 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 best 20 papers submitted will be published in a new Mars Society book, “Telerobotic Mars Expeditions: Exploring the Red Planet with Platoons of Robots.” An essential requirement for any human Mars exploration mission is a system capable of… READ MORE >

Public Displays for The Big Dream Space Art Initiative Begin Today (2.22.22)

World-wide presentations for The Big Dream space art initiative begin TODAY (2.22.22), with 15 public displays of 500 (+) pieces of artwork based on people’s dreams for humanity’s future in space, including the planet Mars! Partnering with Dreame, the Mars Society has called on its global membership and friends to submit their visions for the human settlement of Mars and beyond to The Big Dream project for transformation into inspiring art. The enclosed graphic lists the locations for all 15 sites around the world where the… READ MORE >

Executive Director’s Report (02.22) – The Mars Society

We invite you to watch a video report by James L Burk, our new Executive Director, about his first full month in the role. The five-minute video lists a number of key accomplishments achieved since January 1st, such as the announcement of our Telerobotic Mars Expedition Design Competition (TMEDC). James also outlines plans and initiatives for next month, including the official public release of our Mars VR Virtual Reality project. To watch the new video report, please click here. This… READ MORE >

‘Coming Soon’ Trailer from MarsVR

The Mars Society’s MarsVR team has released a “Coming Soon” trailer for its MDRS Virtual Reality environment, to be hosted on Steam in the near future. The goal of the MDRS VR project is to create a special training environment for MDRS (Mars Desert Research Station) crew members and the general public in order to learn more about Mars analog science, technology, and procedures. The MarsVR team has been working since 2018 on a digital twin of the real-life MDRS facility located in southern… READ MORE >

Mars Society Appoints New Full-Time Executive Director

The Mars Society is very pleased to announce that James L. Burk has been appointed as the organization’s new full-time Executive Director, supervising the group’s world-wide efforts to promote the human exploration and settlement of the planet Mars. In this role, James will oversee the organization’s fundraising efforts and high-level networking, lead and coordinate volunteers and chapters, both in the U.S. and around the world, and coordinate any organizational involvement in informing government representatives about humans-to-Mars. Commenting on his new position, James… READ MORE >

Red Planet Live to Welcome Space Journalist Leonard David on Dec. 2nd

The Mars Society is glad to announce that veteran space journalist & author Leonard David will be joining host Ron Craig on our Red Planet Live (RPL) video podcast on Thursday, December 2nd at 6:00 pm PT / 9:00 pm ET for a wide-ranging talk about Mars exploration, a return to the Moon, the commercial space industry, and other space related topics.  Currently serving as Space.com’s Space Insider columnist, Leonard has been reporting on space activities for over 50 years, publishing articles in Scientific American, SpaceNews… READ MORE >

Support the Mars Society on Giving Tuesday (Nov. 30th)

Next week is Giving Tuesday, an international day of charitable gifting that occurs on the Tuesday after the U.S. holiday of 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 leads the way in educating and informing the public, the media, and the government about the importance of exploring Mars and planning for an eventual permanent human presence there. Included in the Mars Society’s mission are: Mars… READ MORE >

Tourists a (Major) Problem at Mars Analog Site (Article)

Dr. Shannon Rupert, Space.com, Nov. 3, 2021 Dr. Shannon Rupert is an ecologist and educator who has spent more than 20 years doing Mars analog research. She is the longtime director of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), which is owned and operated by The Mars Society. MDRS hosts researchers who conduct their work while in a simulation, living as if they were on Mars. For more details about the MDRS program, please visit: mdrs.marssociety.org. Dr. Rupert contributed this article to… READ MORE >

Red Planet Live Episode #5 with Dr. Jim Bell on Sept. 30th

Please join us Thursday, September 30th at 6:00 pm PT / 9:00 pm ET for another amazing episode of Red Planet Live!!! In this episode, RPL host Ron Craig will be speaking with Dr. Jim Bell, Professor of Astronomy & Planetary Science at Arizona State University’s School of Earth & Space Exploration, and past President & Board member of The Planetary Society. Dr. Bell will be discussing a number of incredible Mars-related topics that he is involved in… past, present… READ MORE >

Volunteer Opportunity for Virtual Convention

The Mars Society will be convening (virtually) its 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention October 14-17, 2021. Leading experts from the global space community will be discussing the latest news about exploring Mars and plans for a human mission to the Red Planet. We’re looking for a few tech-savvy volunteers to help us with managing aspects of the online four-day conference. If you’re interested in helping out, please contact Carie (cfay@marssociety.org). Thanks!… READ MORE >

Watch Red Planet Live Episode 4 on Sept. 14!

Come join our Red Planet Live video podcast on Tuesday, September 14th at 6:00 pm Pacific / 9:00 pm Eastern for an amazing look inside the awesome technology that the Mars Society is working on! During the first half of the show, Ron Craig will be interviewing James Burk, Mars Society IT Director, about some of the technology initiatives that he and his team are spearheading, including the MarsVR project, the innovative aspects of the organization’s virtual convention scheduled for… READ MORE >

Mars Society to Hire Full-Time Executive Director

The Mars Society announced today that it is looking to hire a full-time Executive Director for the organization. The Mars Society is the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to the exploration and human settlement of the planet Mars. With thousands of members and many chapters around the world, the Mars Society operates two Mars analog stations where crews carry out research and test methods of Mars field exploration on Earth. The organization also convenes annual… READ MORE >

Sponsor the 2021 Mars Society Convention!

The Mars Society invites potential sponsors to support the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled to be held virtually October 14-17, 2021. Last year’s online Mars Society convention was a record-breaking success, with 1 million live stream viewers and over 10,000 attendees. 150 speakers gave presentations and also participated in panel discussions and public debates. The four-day virtual event will feature a variety of key experts in the fields of government, business, academia, military, media, and philanthropy who will… READ MORE >

Mars Society Announces 2021 Poster Contest Winner!

The Mars Society is very pleased to announce that the winner of this year’s Mars Society Poster Contest is Olivier Gourdon of France. He is a designer and artist by trade, currently serving as a workshop manager in the graphic industry, and having previously worked in the newspaper and communication agency field. Olivier also was part of a French team in the 2020 Mars City State Design Competition. Graphic artists who participated in our annual design contest were asked to submit… READ MORE >

Titan Dragonfly PI Elizabeth Turtle to Give Update at 2021 Mars Society Convention

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Elizabeth Turtle, Principal Investigator of NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft-lander mission to Saturn’s largest moon Titan, will give a virtual update about the spacecraft during the 24th Annual International Mars Society Convention, set for October 14-17, 2021. Scheduled for launch in 2026 and arrival in 2034 and taking advantage of Titan’s dense atmosphere and low gravity, Dragonfly will explore dozens of locations across the moon’s frozen surface, sampling and measuring the composition of its organic materials, with… READ MORE >

Mars Society Presents Red Planet Live Video Podcast

We are pleased to introduce our new Red Planet Live video podcast – a raw, off the cuff look into all things Mars. We will talk with planetary scientists, STEM industry experts, members of academia, and space advocates who all have a deep passion for the Red Planet. Ron Craig will host the show on behalf of the Mars Society, and will lead and moderate tantalizing discussions with our guests every month as we dig into the questions and work being… READ MORE >