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 >
Topic Area: STEM
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 >
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 Emily Calandrelli (widely known as The Space Gal), a popular science communicator, author, and television host-producer, will be joining our next Red Planet Live podcast on Tuesday, July 18th (4:30 pm PT / 7:30 pm ET). An MIT engineer turned Emmy-nominated science television personality, Emily is the host and co-executive producer of Emily’s Wonder Lab on Netflix, as well as a correspondent on Netflix’s Bill Nye Saves the World and host of… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is launching its second annual International Mission to Mars Engineering Design Competition this summer for high school students from around the world. Students are encouraged to register online for this unique exploratory design challenge. Update: Please note that the deadline for registering for the 2023 Mission to Mars educational program has been extended until Friday, July 7th (5:00 pm MT), at which time student teams will be formed. Update: Both this year and last year’s Lectures are… 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 >
Launched in May 2022, the Mars Society Ambassador program continues to expand its numbers, currently with 35 ambassador volunteers in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, participating in a coordinated effort to expand public awareness of the importance of human Mars exploration and the eventual settlement of the red planet. With dozens of applications being received by the Mars Society since late last year, those accepted as ambassador representatives have been working – in coordination with Mars Society management – to… 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 >
We’re glad to announce that members of Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) Crew 269, led by their commander Dr. Kristine L. Ferrone, are set to appear on the next episode of the Mars Society’s Red Planet Live (RPL) podcast, scheduled for Tuesday, March 21st (5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET). A monthly one-hour video podcast hosted by Ashton Zeth, RPL brings together the people instrumental in planning for the exploration and eventual settlement of the red planet, covering a… READ MORE >
By Jen Carver-Hunter, Veteran Educator, NASA Spaceward Bound Utah Spaceward Bound Utah (SWB) is a NASA-funded program at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah. The purpose of SWB is to inspire future space explorers by providing a Mars analog experience for classroom teachers. Each SWB cohort brings together a group of 6-8 educators with varied professional experience from Utah, across the country, and even internationally. The most recent SWB cohort, Crew 271, spent an engaging,… READ MORE >
It is with excitement that the Mars Society announces the promotion of Dr. Shannon Rupert from her long-time role as Director of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah, the world’s largest and longest-running Mars analog facility, to the newly created role of Senior Director of Analog Research for the Mars Society. In this new role, Dr. Rupert will oversee a new Remote Science Team that will support the MDRS analog crews and will lead our efforts to… 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 >
A new paper published by Andrew Terhorst & Jason A. Dowling in a leading science journal, Space: Science & Technology, cites our Mars Desert Research Station (Utah) as having published the second most peer-reviewed papers of any analog station around the world (with Mars-500 coming in first place) and with the MDRS facility having the most varied types of research. “The Mars-500 missions and the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) analogue generated the most peer-reviewed research publications (151 and 123 publications, respectively)…. READ MORE >
The following is the final summary report of Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) Crew 269 (The Aerospace Corporation). A full review of the 2022-23 MDRS field season and crew activities will be presented at the 26th Annual International Mars Society Convention next year. The Aerospace Corporation Demo-1 Crew 269 Commander (CDR): Dr. Kristine Ferrone Executive Officer (XO): Allison Taylor Health & Safety Officer (HSO): Barbara Braun Crew Engineer (ENG): Ashley Kowalski Green Hab Officer (GHO): Matthew Eby Technology Officer (TECH): Trevor Jahn Crew 269… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Ashton Zeth will be serving as the new host of its video podcast, Red Planet Live (RPL), beginning in January 2023. The show will focus on a wide variety of topics, including Mars and space exploration, STEM education, technology, women in science, and much more, with exciting and open discussions involving experts in these respective fields. A Washington resident with experience in SaaS sales, strategic communications, business development, and public speaking, Ms…. READ MORE >
The Mars Society is calling for volunteers for a mission to reactivate its Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS). The FMARS is located on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic 900 miles from the North Pole in one of the most Mars-like environments on Earth. Since the early 2000’s, Mars mission simulations there have unmatched value in helping humans prepare to explore the Red Planet. The last mission to FMARS took place in the summer of 2017. The Mars Society… READ MORE >
Today is Giving Tuesday, an international day of charitable gifting occurring on the Tuesday after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday (November 29th). As the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy group dedicated to humans-to-Mars, the Mars Society continues to lead the way in educating the public, the media, and government representatives on the benefits of exploring the Red Planet and creating a permanent human presence there. We invite you to watch a special video message from our executive director James… READ MORE >
MDRS Crew 268 was an all-woman multi-national mission sponsored by the Mars Society. Planning for this mission commenced in 2020, so we were excited to arrive at the Mars Desert Research Station on November 13th and begin the journey. Some crew members have had their sights set on MDRS as early as 2012! CrewCommander: Dr. Jennifer Hesterman (United States)Executive Officer/Scientist: Jas Purewal (United Kingdom)Health and Safety Officer: Elizabeth Balga (United States)Biologist & Greenhab Officer: Caitlyn Hubric (United States)Engineer: Judith Marcos… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is seeking applications from qualified people for onsite management positions at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, the largest and longest-running Mars analog facility in the world. The station is set amid some of the most spectacular landscapes you will ever see, and researchers come from all over the world to participate in our analog research & educational programs here. We are presently taking applications for Station Managers beginning immediately. You must be able to… READ MORE >
We are looking for two individuals who can serve as Chapter Coordinators for the Mars Society’s global network of chapters. One person would focus on U.S. chapters (and would need to be based in the U.S.), while the second person would cover our international chapters (outside the U.S.) and can be based anywhere. To learn more about the Mars Society’s chapters, both in the U.S. and international, we invite you to visit chapters.marssociety.org. Priority will be given to current chapter leadership… READ MORE >
As the world’s largest space advocacy group dedicated to humans-to-Mars, the Mars Society has been bringing together for years leading scientists, commercial space executives, and government policymakers to discuss the latest news about exploring Mars and plans for a human mission to the Red Planet, as well as topics involving space exploration, science, and technology. For the last two years, due to the pandemic, the organization’s international conference has been virtual only, resulting in a significant online audience. This year,… READ MORE >
As the world’s largest space advocacy group dedicated to humans-to-Mars, the Mars Society has been bringing together for years leading scientists, commercial space executives, and government policymakers to discuss the latest news about exploring Mars and plans for a human mission to the Red Planet, as well as topics involving space exploration, science, and technology. For the last two years, due to the pandemic, the organization’s international conference has been virtual only, resulting in a significant online audience. This year,… READ MORE >
By Dr. Robert Zubrin, President, The Mars Society, Space.com, 09.08.22 We can reverse the conventional relationship of students to scientific knowledge. Around the world, in all the best university engineering programs, students encounter at some point a class different from all the others. This is the engineering design class, within which, instead of being tested as individuals on their mastery of lectures and texts, the class is challenged to work as a team to design a complex engineering system capable… READ MORE >
The Mars Society will be offering virtual attendance options for its in-person 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention, to be held Thursday-Sunday, October 20-23, 2022 at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. The international forum presents a unique opportunity for those interested in learning more about current efforts and future plans for the exploration of the planet Mars, including a human mission to the Red Planet, from leading scientists, aerospace executives, government policymakers, science journalists, and space advocates. Virtual attendance… READ MORE >