Even as the Obama Administration plans to scrap human space exploration and the prospect of manned missions to Mars becomes more remote than ever, the insurmountable odds haven’t stopped The Mars Society from conducting ongoing simulations and research into what challenges humans will face should we make it to the Red Planet. But there’s a surprising degree of drama behind their work.
According to The Mars Society mission statement, the goal of the non-profit organization is “to help develop key knowledge needed to prepare for human Mars exploration, and to inspire the public by making sensuous the vision of human exploration of Mars.” Since the establishment of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) outside of Hanksville Utah in 2001, The Mars Society has maintained an ongoing research presence at the habitat.