The plan for a Mars balloon mission proposed by the German Mars Society is now making important advances. With the final report on the preliminary flight system design nearing completion, the German Mars Society balloon probe team has been invited to present their concepts before the DLR (German Space Agency) space mission assessment committee in 2002. In support of this effort, the German Mars Society team has been granted DLR funding for studies and tests. If selected, the balloon mission would be Germany’s first interplanetary mission and the first mission to the Red Planet directly initiated by the Mars Society.