Brent Bos hopes people can one day plant their feet on the surface of Mars. For now, the Zeeland native and Arizona researcher is willing to settle for the next best place — Canada’s high Arctic. Bos will be among dozens of researchers traveling this summer to distant Devon Island in Canada’s Nunavut Territory — within 1,000 miles of the North Pole — for a research project in the place most like Mars here on Earth. The team will camp at a research pod and conduct simulations of a human mission to Mars — exploring terrain and geological formations, taking pictures and sending information to mission control.
June 10th, 2001
A Zeeland native hopes his Arctic adventure will pave the way for man’s next big journey The Grand Rapids Press
June 3rd, 2001
Scientifically Speaking The Denver Post
JUNE 15: At 7:30 p.m., Robert Zubrin of the Mars Society will speak during the monthly Denver Astronomical Society meeting, which is open to the public. The free talk will be in Room 105 of Olin Hall, the gold-domed building on the University of Denver campus.
June 3rd, 2001
An RV in space: U-M works on Mars rover The Ann Arbor News
On the right is a tiny toilet, revved with extra power for a low-gravity flush. On the left, computer stations quickly convert into a conference table for strategy meetings. Near the front, a sealed “glove box” allows people to handle hot rocks. On the ceiling, two beds hang, ready to be pulled down when night comes. Welcome to an RV in space, otherwise known as a Mars rover, the workings of University of Michigan engineering students preparing for man’s first travel on the fourth rock from the Sun.
June 2nd, 2001
Mars Society Netherlands Hosts Symposium
Over 150 people gathered in the Netherlands for a symposium titled “Mars – The Living Planet” hosted by the Dutch chapter. The symposium was widely covered in the Dutch media. Featured speakers included Mauro Messerotti, John Karemaker, Erwin Kroll, Robert Zubrin and Chris McKay. By all accounts this was a successful symposium. The meeting however is just a warmup for the upcoming first European Mars Society Conference to be held in Paris September 28-30.
May 31st, 2001
Mars Society Special Bulletin #43
In this issue: ** Mars Society Expands Board of Directors ** MIT Mars Society Videocast Links US and French Universities ** The Saga of Flashline MARS in Scientific American ** Deadline Nears for Abstract Submissions to Mars Society Convention
May 23rd, 2001
Videoconference looks at solutions to problems of traveling to Mars MIT News Office
Eliminating dead bugs on Mars-bound spacecraft, designing a skin-tight space suit and retrieving small objects that float away in space stations were some of the topics that came up during an international videoconference hosted by the MIT Mars Society on May 15. “From Earth to Mars,” which was videocast to MIT students in Rm 9-057 and to five French universities, included speakers Kenneth Jewett, a Jet Propulsion Lab/NASA engineer; Dava J. Newman, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT; and Leopold Eyharts, a French astronaut who once spent several weeks on Mir, the Russian space station.
May 15th, 2001
Mars Explorers to Benefit from Australian Research
At the annual Australian Mars Exploration Conference (AMEC) in Melbourne last weekend, Australian researchers outlined some exciting projects designed to help with the exploration of Mars in coming decades, as part of National Science Week The conference, organized by the Mars Society of Australia, brought together specialists in geology, astrobiology, microbiology, robotics, vehicle design and Antarctic research to discuss exploration of Mars with space enthusiasts.
May 3rd, 2001
United Association to Sponsor Mars Desert Research Station
The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA) has become a major sponsor of the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) and Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station projects. Commenting on UA General President Martin J. Maddaloni’s decision to sponsor the project, UA Director of Training George Bliss said; “We’re doing this to make clear to young people that you don’t have to be a fighter pilot to be a space pioneer. Members of the building trades built the great cities of this country, and when it comes time to build cities on Mars, we are the ones who are going to build them.”
April 27th, 2001
The Australian Mars Exploration Conference
The Mars Society Australia presents the first annual Australian Mars Exploration Conference (AMEC) in Melbourne on the weekend of 12th & 13th May, 2001 as part of National Science Week. The program includes a range of speakers on the Saturday, with a conference banquet in the evening and a program of workshops on Mars Society technical projects on the Sunday including a question and answer session (by telephone) with Dr Robert Zubrin, author of The Case for Mars.
April 27th, 2001
Talk of the Nation: Haughton-mars Project
This summer, scientists on Devon Island in the Arctic will test out a new robot, one that is designed with the ultimate goal of operating in another harsh environment–Mars. The robot is just one of the many projects planned for this summer at the Haughton Mars Research Station, a NASA-operated program that aims to shed light on the geology and biology of Mars.