Alcoa aluminum might be going to Mars. Alcoa has donated approximately 1,500 pounds of 6061-T6 aluminum sheet and treadplate along with engineering expertise to the Mars Society, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the exploration and settlement of Mars. The aluminum products were used to produce the skin of the Mars Habitation Station (MarsHab), a test facility designed for living on the Red Planet. The MarsHab is the centerpiece for the Mars Society’s Mars Analog Research Station Project (M.A.R.S.). “The Mars Society sends teams of scientists to remote places on Earth to simulate what it would be like to live and do research on Mars. Alcoa has always supported human space endeavors, from the beginnings of NASA through today’s International Space Station. Supporting this program was a natural extension of that spirit of cooperation,” says Ken Forsythe, staff application engineer in Alcoa’s Mill Products business, who was instrumental in donating the aluminum products to the organization. The aluminum sheet and plate came from Alcoa’s plant in Davenport, Iowa.