The Translife Mars Gravity Biosatellite, as the mission will be called, will fly the mice aboard a spinning spacecraft that generates artificial gravity identical to that on the surface of Mars. The satellite is scheduled to launch in mid-2005, orbit for about 50 days, and then return the crew safely to Earth. The team is considering a number of launch vehicle options. The mission will conduct basic scientific research necessary before humans can safely explore Mars. Astronauts living in space stations have encountered serious health problems, such as bone loss, due to the weightless environment. The first crew on Mars could experience similar effects, and scientists do not yet know whether Martian gravity is sufficient to prevent these long-term health hazards. The mission’s crew of mice will provide the first answers to this important question, and the equally important question of whether higher life from Earth will ever be able to settle Mars. During the seven-week mission, their offspring will grow from birth to nearly adulthood in Martian gravity. At the end of the flight, the satellite will re-enter the atmosphere, bringing the original crew and their progeny safely back to Earth for scientific study.

The Mars Society was founded to further the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet. The International Mars Society convention presents a unique opportunity for those interested in Mars to come together and discuss the technology, science, social implications, philosophy and a multitude of other aspects of Mars exploration. Highlights of the convention will include the report from the third field season of the Devon Island Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station and the first season of the Mars Desert Research Station, status reports from the Translife Mission and Analog Rover teams, panels and debates concerning key issues bearing on Mars exploration and settlement, and keynote addresses from many prominent leaders of the effort to get humans to Mars. Presentations for the convention are invited dealing with all matters (science, engineering, politics, economics, public policy, etc.) associated with the exploration and settlement of Mars. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent by May 31st, 2002.

On Tuesday, April 2, from 10am to 7pm MST, the MDRS crew welcomes questions from the public sent straight to the Mars Habitat via email at mdrs@nw.net. Questions are welcome for the whole crew or to individual members of the crew currently at the station. Crew #4 is involved with conceptual testing of a Pressurized Exploration Vehicle (PEV), has completed the first full simulation nocturnal EVA, and is engaged in ongoing biological, psychological and geological research. Please send your questions and expect a brief delay due to the extreme distance of the crew being located on the planet Mars. See the Crew #4 bios page for more information about the background and work of the individual members of the crew. Shannon Rupert, Andrew Hoppin, Jennifer Knowles, Joel McKinnon, Alex Kazerooni, and Judith Lapierre (Commander).

Lord Camrose, a Peer of the English Realm, has made a donation of

Over the past week, huge press coverage of the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station has continued worldwide, with broadcasts on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, Der Spiegel TV in Germany, and the BBC Worldwide Radio. Major stories in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and German Focus TV are expected shortly. Through these and other outlets, we have been able to reach hundreds of millions of people with the vision of human exploration and settlement of space, more than all other space advocacy groups have done collectively in their history.

The national pride of many Canadians received a confidence boost earlier last week when it was announced that Dr. Judith Lapierre would be the first Canadian and first female to command the Mars Desert Research Station. Lapierre is a space scientist of the human and health sciences domain. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Mars Society Canada, a space advocacy group that cooperates with Mars Society organizations all over the world to conduct research in a Mars-analog program dedicated to advancing knowledge in geology, biology, exploration technology, habitability and human factors necessary to conduct human missions on Mars. She will command the station for a two-week period beginning March 24, 2002. This will be the fourth international crew to perform research at the desert facility.

The Mars Society / Mars Society UK are pleased to announce that Starchaser Industries Ltd., have made a major donation of some $90,000 (

The third crew rotation of the Mars Desert Research Station has begun. The rotation, which started March 10, will run through March 24. During this time, the crew will continue the MDRS’s program of sustained field exploration of the Utah desert while operating under many of the same constraints that a human crew would in an expedition to Mars. The purpose of this work is to learn how to explore better on the Red Planet. The commander of the third rotation is Dr. Bjoern Grieger, of the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy, Katlenburg-Lindau. Dr. Grieger has a background in physics, astronomy, and paleoclimatology and has had cosmonaut training in Star City. Nell Beadle, a professional field geologist with Fugro Seafloor Surveys, Seattle, Washington, will serve as chief geologist for the crew.

The crews for the 4th and 5th rotations of the Mars Desert Research Station have been selected. Rotation 4, which will run March 24-April 7, will be commanded by Dr. Judith LaPierre. Dr. LaPierre is a professor of psychology at the University of Quebec in Hull. She has participated in space human factors simulation work in Russia in conjunction with the Russian and Canadian Space Agencies. She is both the first woman to command the MDRS and the first French Canadian. The fifth MDRS crew rotation will run from April 7 to 21 and be commanded by Dr. Bill Clancey of the NASA Ames Research Center. Dr. Clancey is a professional space exploration human factors researcher who has taken part in Mars Society and NASA Haughton Mars Project joint expeditions to the Arctic in 1999 and 2000, and who was a member of the crew of the Mars Society’s Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station during the summer of 2001.

Four university-based teams competing for the honor of building the Mars Society’s Translife mission met for a design review Feb 28 at NASA Ames Research Center. The Translife mission will test the effect of Mars gravity by flying a group of mice for 50 days in a rotating spacecraft in low Earth orbit. The mice will be allowed to reproduce and the young to grow up in 3/8 g. the experiment will thus provide the first data on both the effect of Martian gravity on mammals born and raised on Earth and those born and raised on Mars. This information is key for planning future human Mars exploration missions and for determining the prospects for the settlement of Mars with higher life from Earth. The four teams competing were MIT, the University of Colorado, the University of Washington, and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. A downselect to a team or set of teams to do the mission is expected within 2 weeks.