Celebrating its 25th Annual International Convention at Arizona State University in Tempe October 20-23, the Mars Society will be hosting, both in-person and virtually, a large contingent of senior representatives from NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), discussing the latest news about exploring Mars, planning for a human mission to the Red Planet, and much more. Leading off the NASA-JPL involvement at the four-day conference will be Dr. Jim Bell, an Arizona State University professor and a planetary scientist involved… READ MORE >
Topic Area: Technology
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Michael Edmonds, Senior Vice President for Strategy, Marketing, and Sales at Blue Origin, will give an update about the company and its plans for space on Saturday, October 22nd at 7:00 pm MST during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention at Arizona State University (Tempe). Founded in 2000 by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin is a private space company developing vehicles and technologies that dramatically improve access to space for… 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Jingnan Guo, a research professor at the School of Earth & Space Sciences at the University of Science & Technology of China, will give a virtual address about the potential radiation risks for future human Mars settlement, as well as China’s ongoing and future plans for exploring the Red Planet during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention, set for October 20-23, 2022 at Arizona State University (Tempe). Dr. Guo has… 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 is pleased to announce that Peter Beck, founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Engineer of Rocket Lab, a leading launch and space systems company opening access to space to improve life on Earth, will be interviewed virtually about his company and its plans for the future at the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention on Thursday, October 20th at 3:00 pm MST. Rocket Lab’s capabilities span the space economy, including satellite design and manufacture, industry-leading spacecraft software… READ MORE >
With some viewing NASA’s Artemis program as a stepping-stone to Mars, the Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Greg Autry, a Clinical Professor of Space Leadership, Policy, and Business at Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, will give a plenary address about Artemis and the Moon as a capabilities-building destination for the Red Planet during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 20-23, 2022, at ASU (Tempe). In addition to his staff… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that former NASA Chief Scientist Dr. James Green will give a plenary address about “bringing Earth life to Mars” and how that will begin the long-term process of terraforming the planet during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 20-23, 2022 at Arizona State University in Tempe. Currently a scientist and senior advisor at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., Dr. Green previously held the position of Chief Scientist within the… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dylan Taylor, Chairman & CEO of Voyager Space, a multi-national space holding firm that acquires and integrates leading space exploration enterprises globally, will give a plenary talk on October 20th (11:00 am MST) about how the commercial space industry will likely evolve over the next five years during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention at Arizona State University (Tempe). As an early-stage investor in more than 50 emerging ventures, including Accion, Kepler, York,… READ MORE >
The Mars Society, the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to sending humans to Mars, has recently concluded its first cohort of a groundbreaking educational program “International Mission to Mars”, an engineering design competition for high school students. The program is modeled on the approach taken in engineering design courses at some of the leading universities in the world. In conducting this program, the Mars Society sought to demonstrate the value of a new and much more creative way to teach… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is very pleased to announce that NASA Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy will give a keynote talk titled “The Human-Machine Teaming Path to Get Us There” during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention at Arizona State University on Friday, October 21st (11:00 am local time). As Deputy Administrator, Ms. Melroy performs the duties and exercises the powers delegated by the Administrator, assists the Administrator in making final agency decisions, and acts for the Administrator in his… READ MORE >
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 >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Bhavya Lal, NASA Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy, will give a plenary talk about the strategic and policy challenges related to nuclear propulsion for a human mission to Mars during the 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for October 20-23, 2022 at Arizona State University. Dr. Lal is responsible for providing evidence-driven advice to NASA leadership on internal and external policy issues, strategic planning, and technology investments. She… READ MORE >
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 >
This summer, the Mars Society has been conducting a truly groundbreaking educational program for 40 high school students from around the world, modeled on the approach taken in engineering design courses at some of the best universities in the world. With this six-week virtual program, which began on July 5th and will conclude in mid-August, the Mars Society looks to make educational history by demonstrating the value of a new and much more creative way to teach science and engineering… READ MORE >
By Dr. Robert Zubrin, The Cosmopolitan Globalist, 07.13.22 While I earn my living as president of a small aerospace R&D company, Pioneer Astronautics, I also lead the Mars Society, a non-profit that promotes the exploration and settlement of Mars. Founded in 1998, the Mars Society has chapters in 40 countries. Our activities include public outreach to spread our vision, securing support for government Mars programs, and projects of our own—most notably, establishing Mars analog research stations in deserts around the… READ MORE >
By Dr. Robert Zubrin, The Cosmopolitan Globalist, 07.10.22 The Republic of Korea is a remarkable country. In 1960, seven years after the Korean War ceasefire, it was a corrupt dictatorship with a per capita GDP of US$82, about US$400 in 2022 money—less than Haiti. Today, through incredible drive, it has transformed itself into vibrant modern democracy with a per capita GDP of $30,000, roughly equal to the EU average, and a total GDP greater than Russia’s. This is an absolutely unique… READ MORE >
Dr. Shannon Rupert, field ecologist and long-time director of the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, was notified recently that she has been accepted into Cohort 3 of NASA’s STAR (Spaceflight Technology, Applications and Research) program, beginning in September 2022. A highly competitive 5-month course, STAR is a virtual NASA program for space biosciences training, with annual courses involving principal investigators, senior research scientists, and postdoctoral scholars. The goal of STAR is to facilitate each participant’s entry… READ MORE >
The Mars Society announced that its Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) management team has installed SpaceX’s Starlink system at its remote campus in southern Utah to help dramatically improve the facility’s communications network used by analog crews involved in on-site simulation training and field studies. Starlink is a global satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing internet access coverage to dozens of countries around the world, and frequently used in areas where wifi connectivity is typically unreliable or completely unavailable. … READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that the Michigan Mars Rover Team (University of Michigan) has won the 2022 University Rover Challenge, the world’s premier Mars robotics competition for college students, with 388.97 points! Way to go, Wolverines! Coming in second place was the Monash Nova Rover (Monash University, Australia) with 380.55 points, and third place was taken by the Mars Rover Design Team (Missouri University of Science & Technology) with 370.71 points. All 36 student teams did a… READ MORE >
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Relativity Space, a Los Angeles-based aerospace company, has joined the growing ranks of official sponsors of our University Rover Challenge (URC), the world’s premier Mars robotics competition for college students held annually at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. Relativity is at the forefront of software-defined manufacturing, using 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and autonomous robotics to revolutionize how rockets are built and flown. The company intends to develop the world’s first entirely… READ MORE >
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 >