On December 8th, Mars Society leaders Chris McKay and Robert Zubrin gave plenary addresses to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conference in Paris devoted to mapping a vision for space exploration in the 21st century. Other speakers at the conference included Sir Arthur Clarke (who appeared via video), Hubert Reeves (an astrophysicist and widely published author sometimes called “the Carl Sagan of France”), SETI pioneer Jill Tarter, and David Southwood, the Director of Science for the European Space Agency. The inclusion of McKay and Zubrin in this distinguished company reflects the growing influence of the Mars Society as recognized spokesmen for the vision of human exploration and settlement of space.
Zubrin Talks Mars With SpaceDaily
What could you do with six billion dollars? Robert Zubrin thinks you could go to Mars with it. Unless you are the U.S. government, that is: then it would take closer to twenty billion dollars. Dr. Zubrin is the founder and president of Pioneer Astronautics, and a founder of The Mars Society, a group dedicated to expanding the knowledge of Mars and establishing a permanent human presence there. He knows something about space exploration, having been part of it for over sixteen years. He advocates harnessing the pent-up dreams of average citizens to finance Mars exploration. As he puts it, “a hundred million people times a hundred dollars is ten billion dollars.”
Mars Rendered in 3-D Using Spacecraft Data
Few features on any planet loom as large — in telescopes or in the minds of scientists — as the huge scar on Mars known as Valles Marineris. To call the apparent drainage system a series of valleys is like calling the Grand Canyon a gully. And to claim you know just how it came to exist is a recipe for much scientific wrangling. We simply don’t know a lot about Mars’ past. Nor its present. Even after many spacecraft landings on Mars and hundreds of thousands of satellite pictures, there is no good ground-level snapshot showing what Valles Marineris looks like today. Now an artist has offered several views of the region, its deep canyons and towering cliffs, all based on topographical data obtained by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) instrument on NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft.
Mars Society Fundraising Campaign Initiated
The Mars Society will be sending out our annual fundraising drive letter to all members this week. With two active stations, sponsored research at several universities and increased outreach opportunities, our operating costs are substantial. As you know, we are funded strictly through private donations so please put The Mars Society on your holiday gift giving list this year. Mr. Robert Aronsson of Apollo Energy Systems has generously offered to match your donation of up to $1000, so please honor his generosity with your own. This year, to show how greatly your gifts are appreciated, we will offer a premium package: Donations of $100 or more will receive an autographed copy of one of Dr. Robert Zubrin’s three books, The Case for Mars, Entering Space or First Landing. Donations of $1000 or more will entitle the donor to a lifetime membership in The Mars Society.
Analog Station Crew Member Sponsorships Available
This year we will send close to 100 crewmembers to our Utah and Devon Island research stations. With a full twelve-month operating season between the two bases, the cost of deployment and crew support increases substantially. In order to accommodate as many crewmember volunteers as possible, we are seeking direct sponsorship of crewmembers.
Australian Mars Research Facility Needs AU $250,000
Australia is one step closer to having its own outback space research facility, to be used for testing equipment and technology which could help to send humans to Mars. A group of Australian and international scientists and engineers have now returned to Adelaide after two weeks in the Red Centre, and have identified three sites for the conduct of this research, with the most favourable location identified as the Arkaroola region in the Northern Flinders Ranges. The other areas with strong potential for future Mars analogue research are Arkaringa near Coober Pedy and the Woomera region. The first Project Jarntimarra expedition, organised by Mars Society Australia, was an outstanding success, said President Guy Murphy.
Mars Society Boldly Goes to Oz Wired News
Rock-strewn craters, dry river beds, pancake-flat deserts — in many ways the Australian Outback looks more like Mars than Earth. With this in mind, a convoy of Mars Society researchers is crisscrossing the Outback, looking for a place to establish a research base to prepare for manned space missions to the Red Planet. Among other things, Mars researchers plan to study more deeply the Outback’s geology and its hot-spring bacterial life, as well as use its scorching, inhospitable vastness to test space suits, communications systems and extraterrestrial four-wheelers.
Volunteers needed for Mars expedition
Hard work. No Pay. Eternal glory. Those are the promises of the Mars Society to those dedicating themselves to build and man a research camp on a cold, desolate and barren landscape.
Surviving Mars Documentary On Discovery Channel Viewed By Millions
Surviving Mars, the Discovery Channel’s two-hour documentary about the Mars Society’s program to build and operate the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island aired on the evening of Wednesday Nov. 7th. By all accounts, the show was a knockout. Despite being in competition with the Country Music awards and the popular “West Wing” drama, the program garnered over 2 percent of the American TV viewing audience in its first broadcast. That means it was seen by several million people. Additional millions saw the program when it was rebroadcast on the morning of Saturday Nov. 10. More broadcasts are expected; those who missed it should check TV listings (where it is sometimes entitled “Mars on Earth.). It is also expected to be produced and marketed by the Discovery Channel as a home video.
MIT Mars Society Chapter Host Third Successful MarsWeek Event
On the weekend of October 26-28, about 100 people attended the third annual MarsWeek conference, which is held every fall at the MIT campus in Cambridge MA. This year’s conference focused on past, present and future Mars Society projects. Several participants in the Devon Island station described their experiences, and concepts for research at the new Utah station were presented. The new Mars Gravity initiative took center stage, with discussion among design team members from several universities, including MIT, Embry-Riddle and CalTech. Jim Benson, CEO of SpaceDev, discussed the process of developing commercial interest in space exploration. Workshops explored a wide range of cultural, scientific and engineering issues related to the exploration of Mars.