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, organized by Mars Society Australia, was an outstanding success, said President Guy Murphy.
November 7th, 2001
Surviving Mars – World Premiere on The Discovery Channel Discovery Channel
The Mars Society built a prototype of a spacecraft habitat that could land humans on Mars and serve as their base in the exploration of the Martian surface. The purpose of the prototype is to study how astronauts will one day explore and inhabit our neighboring world. Airing Wednesday, November 7th, 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. ET/PT
November 1st, 2001
Microsoft to sponsor “Surviving Mars” on Discovery Channel
The Microsoft Corporation will sponsor the two-hour TV documentary “Surviving Mars,” which will air on the Discovery Channel during prime time on Nov 7. The documentary, filmed and edited by twice-Emmy award winner Andy Liebman, is dedicated to chronicling the efforts of the Mars Society to build and operate the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island. To film the show, Liebman led a team of 7 who lived and worked with Mars society members on the island at 75 degrees north during the summers of 2000 and 2001.
November 1st, 2001
Anna Paulson Joins Mars Society Headquarters Team
The Mars Society is proud to announce that Anna Paulson has joined its headquarters team as Project Manager for the Mars Desert Research Station. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Anna studied biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Utah. Her master’s research was on gene regulation during early development of the nematode C. elegans. After receiving her Master’s degree, Anna initiated a course of study in engineering at the University of Michigan. There she joined the Michigan Mars Rover Team, eventually becoming team leader of this highly successful project.
October 29th, 2001
Volunteers Needed For Desert And Flashline Station Crews
The Mars Society is requesting volunteers to participate as members of the crew of the Mars Desert Research Station in southern Utah and Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island during extended simulations of human Mars exploration operations during the period of December 2001 through August 2002. It is anticipated that the Desert Station field season will include two shakedown crew rotations during December 2001, followed by a set of rotations running from January through May 2002. It is anticipated that the Flashline Station field season will run from late June through late August 2002.
October 29th, 2001
Australian eyes on Mars mission Australian Broadcasting Corporation
If you wanted to start a journey to Mars, where would you go? Well a team of Australian and NASA space specialists are trekking across remote parts of Central Australia looking for a starting point for a possible manned Mars mission. Among the proponents is the Mars Society, a team of scientists who are keen to see mankind land on Mars and who are desperate for Australia to have an involvement. A project team are spending the next fortnight travelling through Central Australia scouting for research locations.
October 27th, 2001
Hopes outback will be home to Mars exploration facility Australian Broadcasting Corporation
It is hoped an expedition into the outback will result in Australia being used as an experimental site for the exploration of the planet Mars. A group of national and international scientists is leaving today to look at sites in the Flinders Ranges and the areas around Woomera, Oodnadatta. The Mars Society Team hopes its research will increase the chances of securing United States funding to support local involvement in establishing an Australian mock-up Mars facility.
October 15th, 2001
Translife Mission Experiment Sees Mice Born at 25 RPM
It is with great pleasure that the Mars Society announces that Minnie, the female participant in the Mars Society’s Translife Mission Coriolis force experiment, has given birth of a litter of approximately 6 healthy baby mice. The birth apparently took place over the weekend, with the youngsters first observed on the morning of October 15, 2001. The Translife Mission is a Mars Society program to determine whether mammals from Earth can live, give birth, and develop properly in Martian gravity.
October 11th, 2001
Scientists search for Mars-like terrain in outback Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Mars Society will travel through the South Australian and Northern Territory outback this month to find a location which approximately replicates the terrain on Mars. NASA scientists will join the Australian team to find a location which will be used to build a training base for the first manned mission to the planet. The society’s Jason Hoogland says the expedition will look at areas near Alice Springs, including the Henbury crater site and the Todd River flood plains.
September 28th, 2001
Engineer keeps dreams of trip to Red Planet alive Florida Today
NASA is trying to wring out more money for its haggard space station, the shuttle fleet is aging and even the image of the visionary young president who aimed America at the moon has faded. But that doesn’t keep Robert Zubrin from lobbying for a manned Mars mission. Instead of seeking out Capitol Hill for billions of dollars and a mandate, the aerospace engineer and founder of the Mars Society takes his plans to individuals around the world in an attempt to build political support. “We need to go to Mars not to beat a foreign power, we need to go to Mars for the true reason to go to Mars, and that is to open up a new planet,” Zubrin said, standing inside an experimental module the organization built to simulate space exploration. The can-shaped refuge is on display through this weekend at Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex.