Mars’ native atmosphere provides a combination of conditions favorable to the use of one of the simplest and oldest flying machines, the hot air balloon. It is the authors intention to promote a Mars Society Chapter based research and development program of a Solar Montgolfiere (hot air) balloon mission. This would add prestige and a knowledge base to the Mars Society as a whole. The project would be based on a structure similar to that used by Amsat to make and launch their OSCAR series of amateur radio communications satellites and would combined COTS components and SpaceDev’s offer of a commercial probe carrier to reduce mission costs.
August 27th, 2000
Barnstorming Mars: A modest proposal to send a Solar Montgolfiere Balloon to the Red Planet Chris Vancil
August 17th, 2000
Uncertain Sponsorship for Mars-Bound, Life-Seeking Microscope
A Mars-exploration advocacy group has embarked on a campaign to raise funds to sponsor a life-seeking microscope aboard the next spacecraft set to land on the Red Planet, although lander officials say they have agreed to no such deal. Either way, the instrument is to be toted to Mars on the British-built Beagle 2 lander. If on schedule, it will be the first microscope placed on Mars, said Peter Smith, senior research scientist at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson. He is building the unit with colleagues at the Max Planck Institute in Germany.
August 14th, 2000
The True Story of the Mars Simulation on Devon Island
Supported by six steel legs rammed into rocky ground, the Mars Society’s white fiberglass dome sits like some extraterrestrial fishbowl on the rim of Haughton Crater. It shimmers in the never-setting sun of the Arctic summer. Called the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, the futuristic dome-topped cylinder can be seen from more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away. From the bottom of the broad dish of the meteorite-excavated crater, it appears as a bright white dot on the edge of gray-brown hills. From closer, it is an imposing sight. The habitation module, which is supposed simulate a base for astronauts on Mars, juts up sharply from the gently sloping terrain. It is easy to imagine that this space bubble is the first outpost of a growing colony on Mars, that soon the solitary structure will give way to a trailer-park-style settlement of prefabricated Mars modules.
August 12th, 2000
‘Martians’ land in T.O. cnews
Living like Martians for a week has stoked the dreams of Mars’ scientific zealots who believe astronauts could walk on the Red Planet within 10 years. Members of a hi-tech crew are in Toronto this week after returning from a Mars-like research station in the Arctic where they’ve been trained for an imaginary mission to Mars. “We believe there are hundreds of millions of people around the world who want to see the exploration of Mars,” said Dr. Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society, the group that organized the expedition. “And doing it is completely political. From a technical point of view, we could launch to Mars in 2008.”
August 11th, 2000
Mars or Bust: Red Planet Proponents State Their Case In Toronto
Don’t wait for clanking robots on Mars to do what flesh-and-blood humans do better. The opportunity is now for a new branch of civilization to claim the fourth planet from the sun. That’s the opening call from a “Red Planet platoon” from more than 700 people gathered here for the Third International Mars Society Convention, running through Sunday at Ryerson Polytechnic University. “From a technological point of view,” said Mars Society President Robert Zubrin, “we are much better prepared today to send humans to Mars than we were to send people to the moon in 1961 when John F. Kennedy started the program.”
August 10th, 2000
Mars crew returns for T.O. conflab cnews
More than 1,000 aerospace experts and enthusiasts will be in town today for the third annual International Mars Society’s convention at Ryerson Polytechnic University. But the four-day event has nothing to do with men from the tiny red planet. Instead, NASA scientists, film directors and Mars fanatics from around the world will discuss the technical, scientific and social aspects of exploring and establishing human settlements on Mars.
August 2nd, 2000
Marc Boucher’s Personal Journal
We ended the simulation yesterday. Today we spent much of the day doing electronic paperwork such as email, journals and preparing papers. In the afternoon we bid farewell to Darlene Lim, Charlie Cockell and Dale Stokes who are all headed back to the “earth”. We did get one newcomer into camp. Dr. Baruch Blumberg who heads up the Astrobiology Institute at NASA AMES arrived. Dr. Blumberg is a Nobelm Laureate having shared the 1976 Nobel Prize for Medicine. We have invited our VIP to spend tomorrow night in the habitat with us.
August 1st, 2000
Marc Boucher’s Personal Journal
Like yesterday we got up around 8:00 AM to start our day. The plan for the day was simple. Two traverses. One before lunch and one after. The first traverse would head to Exploration Office Valley by way of base camp and stop at Lake Cornell on the way back. This traverse should take about two hours. The afternoon traverse had not been decided yet. Once again a communications protocol was in effect. However since the EVA crew would be out range or line of sight at times they would contact us when they could. (See map and photos below) On EVA were Carol, Larry and Darlene. Marc and Bill stayed behind to catch up paperwork and to man the communications gear. Bob Nesson was away on other business. The traverse went very well.
July 31st, 2000
Mars ‘Colony’ Rises In the Arctic
Despite losing crucial equipment and having its original construction crew walk away from the project, the Mars Society’s prototype for a living quarters on the Red Planet has been assembled on the northern Canadian arctic landscape of Devon Island. Members of the Mars Society completed assembly of the 20-ton fiberglass module last week and held an opening ceremony Friday, with a ceremonial “crew” entering the module as if they were astronauts arriving at their otherworldly home.
July 31st, 2000
Marc Boucher’s Personal Journal
With a sense of determination to try and get something done in our first full day of simulation as the “long term” crew this year we set about planning the day’s activities. The morning plan was to test the Mars prototype suit. This would be done by Carol, Larry and Darlene as they could fit in the suit. This was delayed until around noon as the suit was being used by a Haughton-Mars Project member. In the meantime the crew continued to fix up the habitat and discuss how the interior could be built out for future simulations.