The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Vinton G. “Vint” Cerf, widely recognized as one of the founding fathers of the Internet, will deliver a plenary address at the 2026 International Mars Society Convention, taking place October 22–24 at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. Cerf’s presentation will focus on an extraordinary technological challenge: developing an Internet that extends beyond Earth to Mars and eventually throughout the solar system. Best known for co-designing the TCP/IP… READ MORE >
Topic Area: Spacetech
Unleashed Robotics, a Washington state-based company and Tier-1 partner of the Mars Technology Institute (MTI), established by the Mars Society to advance technologies needed for the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, has been selected by NASA for negotiation for a $225,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award. The six-month project will advance the company’s innovative robotic core-drilling technology for future planetary exploration. The project, “Iris Core Cutter and Retention Mechanism for Stratigraphy-Preservation,” will focus on… READ MORE >
Technology entrepreneur and commercial spaceflight pioneer Tim Ellis, Co-Founder and Board Member of Relativity Space, will participate in a special fireside chat at the 2026 International Mars Society Convention, taking place October 22–24 at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. As the founding CEO of Relativity Space, Ellis spent nearly a decade building the company into one of the world’s most innovative aerospace firms, growing it to more than 1,500 employees, raising over $2 billion in funding,… READ MORE >