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Encyclopedia > Mars Society
Mars Society
Founded August, 1998
Key people Board of Directors:
Area served International
Focus Space advocacy
Website http://www.marssociety.org

The Mars Society is an international space advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging the exploration and settlement of Mars. Founded by Robert Zubrin and others in mid-1998 and attracting the support of notable science fiction writers and filmmakers (including Kim Stanley Robinson and James Cameron), the organization is dedicated to convincing the public and governments of the benefits of Mars exploration, as well as exploring the possibilities of private Mars missions.[1] Image File history File links MarsSocietyLogo. ... Zubrin giving a talk in 2005. ... Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941 in Mobile, Alabama) is an American science fiction author and physicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. ... Space advocacy is a political position that favors the exploration, utilization, and colonization of outer space. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Space advocacy is a political position that favors the exploration, utilization, and colonization of outer space. ... A non-profit organization (abbreviated NPO, or non-profit or not-for-profit) is an organization whose primary objective is to support an issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes, without concern for monetary profit. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Zubrin giving a talk in 2005. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For the late American actress, see Kim Stanley. ... For other persons named James Cameron, see James Cameron (disambiguation). ...

Contents

History

The Society formally came into existence at its founding conference in August 1998, when over 700 delegates – astronomers, scientists, engineers, astronauts, entrepreneurs, educators, students, and space enthusiasts – attended a weekend of talks and presentations from leading Mars exploration advocates. 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...


Since that time, the Society, guided by its International Steering Committee, has grown to over 4,000 members and some 6,000 associate supporters across more than 50 countries around the world. Members of the Society are from all walks of life, and all actively work to promote the ideals of space exploration and the opportunities for exploring Mars.


The Mars Society's goals aren't purely theoretical. Its aim is to show that Mars is an achievable goal through a practical series of technical and other projects, including these:

  • further development of the Mars Direct mission plan to send humans to Mars[2]
  • the Mars Analogue Research Station Programme (MARS) – analogues of possible future Mars habitation units, located in Mars-like environments
  • the Mars Society Analogue Pressurized Rover – a competition to design a pressurized rover vehicle that could be used on Mars that was won by the Michigan Mars Rover Team[3].
  • the Mars Gravity Biosatellite - a program to design, build, and launch a satellite rotated to artificially provide partial gravity of 0.38g, equivalent to that of Mars, and hosting a small population of mice, to study the health effects of partial gravity, as opposed to zero gravity; this originated as a Mars Society initiative and is now supported by the YourNameIntoSpace web portal
  • the Mars balloon mission ARCHIMEDES, due to launch in 2009 (conducted by the German chapter of Mars Society)[4]

In addition, the Society: Mars Direct is a proposal for a relatively low-cost manned mission to Mars with current rocket technology. ... FMARS, Devon Island (credit: The Mars Society UK) // Overview The Mars Analogue Research Station (MARS) Programme is an international effort spearheaded by The Mars Society to establish a network of prototype research centres where scientists and engineers can live and work as if they were on Mars, to develop the... The Michigan Mars Rover Team was created in March of 2000 with two main goals. ... The Mars Gravity Biosatellite project is a joint venture of MIT and the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop a free-flying spacecraft for un-crewed research flights. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

  • gives talks and presentations on Mars Direct to schools, colleges, universities, professional bodies and the general public
  • promotes the teaching of science, astronomy and spaceflight-related subjects in schools
  • campaigns for greater investment on the part of individual countries in space research and development
  • hosts the largest annual conferences on Mars exploration in the United States, Europe and Australia
  • actively supports NASA, ESA and other space agencies in their on-going exploration of Mars

The current board of directors of the Mars Society is Robert Zubrin (chairman), Gregory Benford, Penelope Boston, and Declan O'Donnell.[5] For other uses, see NASA (disambiguation). ... This article is about the European Space Agency. ... Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941 in Mobile, Alabama) is an American science fiction author and physicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. ...


Notable members of its steering committee include Buzz Aldrin, Scott Horowitz, Peter H. Smith, and Carol Stoker. Colonel Buzz Aldrin, Sc. ... External link NASA Biography Categories: Stub | 1957 births | Astronauts ...


Notable former members of the board of directors or steering committee of the Mars Society include Kim Stanley Robinson, Mike Griffin, Christopher McKay, and Pascal Lee.[6] For the late American actress, see Kim Stanley. ... Michael D. Griffin Dr. Michael D. Griffin (born in 1949 in Aberdeen, Maryland) is the current NASA Administrator. ... Dr. Christopher McKay of NASA Ames Research Center. ... Pascal Lee is co-founder and chairman of the Mars Institute, a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute, and the Principal Investigator of the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. ...


Chapters of the Mars Society

The Mars Society has chapters in countries around the world. Many of these chapters undertake scientific, engineering and political initiatives to further the Mars Society's goals. Some accomplishments of Mars Society chapters are listed below:


Northern California Chapter of the Mars Society:

Dallas Chapter of the Mars Society: Stanford redirects here. ... For other persons named James Cameron, see James Cameron (disambiguation). ... The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is one of four planned simulated Mars habitats (or Mars Analogue Research Station) maintained by the Mars Society. ...

  • hosted the Mars Track of the National Space Society's International Space Development Conference in 2007[9]
  • Planning Publicizing, and Politicking a vision of Mars colonization in the Dallas area and beyond.

Mars Society of Canada:

  • hosted the Third International Mars Society Convention in 2000 (Toronto)[10]
  • organized a month-long multi-national research expedition (known as Expedition One) to the Mars Desert Research Station in the Utah desert in 2003[11]
  • organized a second multi-national research expedition (known as Expedition Two) in the Australian outback in 2004[12]

The Mars Society - San Diego: http://www.marssandiego.org/ The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is one of four planned simulated Mars habitats (or Mars Analogue Research Station) maintained by the Mars Society. ...

  • provides Crewmembers and Mission Support services for the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) and the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) since 2002
  • TMS-SD provides public outreach events to classrooms, libraries, museums and other organizations throughout the Southern California region with seven different multimedia programs: "Invasion from Earth - The Robotic Exploration of Mars"; "Mars Exploration Rovers - Year 4"; "Mars on Earth - The Adventures of Space Pioneers in the Utah Desert"; "Mars on Earth - The Adventures of Space Pioneers in the Canadian Arctic: "Humans to Mars - How We'll Get There"; "A Close Look at Mars"; and "Mars in the Movies"
  • TMS-SD offers a 1/4-scale radio controlled Mars Exploration Rover with wireless video that children (of all ages) can operate [1]
  • holds monthly chapter meetings, as well as special program events throughout the year
  • hosts a monthly Mars Movie Night in conjunction with http://marsmovieguide.com

See also

Mars flag While not official in any legal sense, the Mars tricolor has not only been approved by the Mars Society and The Planetary Society, it has also flown in space. ... Mars Mars is the focus of much speculation and serious study about possible human colonization. ... MARS-500, the ground-based experiment simulating manned flight to Mars, will start in the fourth quarter of 2007 at the Institute of Biomedical Problems [1] of the Russian Academy of Sciences. ...

References

  1. ^ Mars Society Purpose
  2. ^ Penn State - Mars Direct
  3. ^ Mars Society Pressurized Rover
  4. ^ Archimedes Balloon Project
  5. ^ Mars Society Board Listing
  6. ^ Mars Society Steering Member Listing
  7. ^ Mars Society on h2g2
  8. ^ NASA Field Trials at the Mars Desert Research Station
  9. ^ Adastra "National Space Society Conference Kicks Off in Dallas"
  10. ^ Space.com "Mars Society says humanity shouldn't wait for clanking robots on Mars to do what flesh-and-blood humans do better"
  11. ^ Expedition One
  12. ^ Expedition Two

External links

v • d • e
Mars
Geography
General Albedo features (Solis Lacus) · Atmosphere · Canals (list) · Climate · Life · North Polar Basin · Chaos terrain
Regions Cydonia Mensae · Planum Boreum · Planum Australe · Cerberus Hemisphere · Vastitas Borealis · Iani Chaos · Quadrangles · Tharsis · Ultimi Scopuli · Eridania Lake · Olympia Undae
Mountains Listed by height · Echus Montes · Elysium Planitia
Volcanoes Alba Patera · Albor Tholus · Arsia Mons · Ascraeus Mons · Biblis Patera · Elysium Mons · Hecates Tholus · Olympus Mons · Pavonis Mons · Syrtis Major · Tharsis · Tharsis Montes
Craters Catenae · Hellas Planitia · Argyre Planitia · Schiaparelli · Gusev · Eberswalde · Eagle
Geology Carbonates · Spherules · Spiders · Swiss cheese features
Mars as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope
Mars Portal 
Moons Phobos · Deimos
Discovery · Features · Stickney crater (Phobos) · Phobos and Deimos in fiction
Meteorites ALH84001 · Chassigny · Kaidun · Shergotty · Nakhla
Exploration Colonization · Phobos program · Spirit-observed features · Opportunity-observed features · HiRISE · Manned mission · Mars landing · Mars rover · Artificial objects on Mars · Terraforming
Eclipses and transits
Eclipses Solar eclipses on Mars
Transits Deimos · Phobos · Earth · Mercury · Venus
Other topics Mars-crosser asteroid · Astronomy on Mars · Darian calendar · Timekeeping on Mars · Haughton-Mars Project · Martian · Mars Society · Flag of Mars · Mars in fiction
Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... The classical albedo features of Mars are those light and dark features which can be seen on the planet Mars through an Earth-based telescope. ... Solis Lacus (85° W, 26° S) is a dark feature on Mars. ... Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has a very different atmosphere from that of Earth. ... For a time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was believed that there were canals on Mars. ... The canals were named, by Schiaparelli and others, after real and legendary rivers of various places on Earth or the mythological underworld. ... An electron microscope reveals bacteria-like structures in meteorite fragment ALH84001 For other uses of Life on Mars, see Life on Mars (disambiguation). ... The North Polar Basin is a large basin in the northern region on Mars. ... This is a list of areas of chaos terrain officially named by the International Astronomical Union on the planet Mars. ... The Cydonia Region taken by the Viking 1 orbiter and released by NASA/JPL on July 25, 1976 (north is to the upper right). ... Viking mosaic of Planum Boreale and surrounds. ... Planum Australe, taken by Mars Global Surveyor. ... Mosaic of the Cerberus hemisphere of Mars Cerberus Hemisphere is a part of Mars geography and refers to the area approximately of Latitude: 20° South to 55° North and Longitude: 150° to 230°. Prominent features of the Cerberus Hemisphere include: Amazonis Planitia Cerberus Mangala Valles Utopia Planitia. ... Vastitas Borealis is the largest lowland region of Mars. ... Aram Chaos is the circular depression in the top left. ... Clouds hover over the volcano peaks of the Tharsis region in this color mosaic image. ... Ultimi Scopuli is a region near the south pole of Mars. ... Eridania Lake is a theorized ancient lake on Mars with a surface area of roughly 1. ... Olympia Undae is a large dune field on the planet Mars, located next to the north polar region of Planum Boreum and covering from 100°E to 240°E. In 2006 rich gypsum deposits were detected there by the Mars Express orbiter, suggesting that the region had been wet at... This is a list of all the named mountains on Mars. ... Olympus Mons 27km Ascraeus Mons 11km Pavonis Mons 7km Alba Patera 3km Categories: Lists of mountains by height | Mars ... Echus Montes is a large mountain on Mars at 6. ... Elysium Planitia is the second largest volcanic region on Mars, after Tharsis Montes. ... Alba Patera is a unique volcanic feature to the north of the Tharsis region of Mars, an enormous shield volcano roughly 1600 kilometers in diameter but only ~3 kilometers tall at its highest point. ... topography of Albor Tholus and its neighbourhood Albor Tholus is an extinct volcano in the Elysium Planitia area on Mars. ... Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech Arsia Mons is the southernmost of three volcanos (collectively known as Tharsis Montes) on the Tharsis bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. ... Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech Ascraeus Mons is the northernmost of three volcanos (collectively known as Tharsis Montes) on the Tharsis bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. ... Biblis Patera is an extinct Martian volcano located at 2. ... Elysium Mons is a volcano on Mars located in the Elysium Planitia, at 25°N, 213°W, in the Martian eastern hemisphere. ... Hecates Tholus is a Martian volcano, notable for results from the European Space Agencys Mars Express mission which indicate a major eruption took place 350 million years ago. ... This article is about the volcano on Mars and Solar Systems tallest mountain in Latin, For other uses, see Olympus (disambiguation). ... Pavonis Mons is the middle of three volcanos (collectively known as Tharsis Montes) on the Tharsis bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. ... Syrtis Major is a dark spot (an albedo feature) located in the boundary between the northern lowlands and southern highlands of Mars. ... Clouds hover over the volcano peaks of the Tharsis region in this color mosaic image. ... The three volcanoes that comprise Tharsis Montes: Arsia Mons is southernmost; Pavonis Mons is at center; Ascraeus Mons is at north. ... There are hundreds of thousands of craters on Mars, but only some of them have names. ... This is a list of named catenae on Mars. ... NASA image of Hellas Planitia Hellas Planitia, also known as the Hellas Impact Basin, is a roughly circular impact crater located in the southern hemisphere of the planet Mars. ... Argyre Planitia is a plain located in the Argyre impact basin in the southern highlands of Mars between -35 and -61 deg S and 27 and 62 deg W. The basin is approximately 1120 miles (1800 kilometers) wide, the second-largest impact basin on Mars after Hellas Planitia, and drops... Elevation map of Schiaparelli crater, as seen by Mars Global Surveyor. ... Gusev Crater is a meteor crater in Russia. ... Eberswalde crater, formerly known as Holden NE crater, is a partially buried impact crater in Margaritifer Terra, Mars. ... Eagle Crater is the small crater in which the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity found itself after landing on Mars in 2004. ... False colour view of a landslide in Zunil crater The geology of Mars, also known as areology (from Greek: Ἂρης, ArÄ“s, Ares; and λόγος, logos, knowledge), refers to the study of the composition, structure, physical properties, history and the processes that shape the planet Mars. ... Evidence for carbonates on Mars has remained elusive. ... Spheules still in their originating strata Martian spherules, also known as blueberries, are the abundant spherical hematite inclusions discovered by the Mars rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum on the planet Mars. ... Martian spiders are geological formations thus far unique to the south polar region of Mars. ... Pits in south polar ice cap, taken in consecutive southern hemesphere summers, the first of which was in 1999, the second in 2001. ... Image File history File links Mars_Hubble. ... Image File history File links Portal. ... The relative sizes of and distance between Mars, Phobos, and Deimos, to scale : Phobos (top) and Deimos (bottom). ... Phobos (IPA: or [ˈfoÊŠ.bÉ™s]) (systematic designation: ) is the larger and closer of Mars two moons (the other being Deimos). ... Deimos (IPA or ; Greek Δείμος: Dread), is the smaller and outermost of Mars’ two moons, named after Deimos from Greek Mythology. ... The discovery of the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, occurred in 1877 when American astronomer Asaph Hall, Sr. ... This is a list of geological features on Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars. ... Stickney crater (at left), with radiating grooves Stickney at top in sunlight, imaged by Mars Global Surveyor Stickney crater is the largest crater on Phobos, which is a satellite of Mars. ... Phobos and Deimos, the two moons of Mars, are locations frequently mentioned in works of science fiction. ... A Martian meteorite is a meteorite, that has landed on Earth but is believed to have originated from Mars. ... Meteorite fragment ALH84001 ALH 84001 (Allan Hills 84001) is a meteorite found in Allan Hills, Antarctica in December 1984 by a team of US meteorite hunters from the ANSMET project. ... Thin section of Chassigny under cross-polarized light (JPL) Chassigny is a Mars meteorite that was seen to fall on October 3rd, 1815 at about 8:00 am in Chassigny, Haute-Marne, France[1][2]. Chassigny is the meteorite for which the Chassignites are named and gives rise to the... The Kaidun meteorite is a meteorite that fell on March 12, 1980 on a Soviet military base in Yemen. ... The Shergotty meteorite is the first example of the shergottite Mars meteorite family. ... The Nakhla meteorite, the first and eponymous example of a Nakhlite type meteorite of the SNC Group type of meteorites, fell to Earth on the 28th of June, 1911, at approximately 09:00 in the Nakhla region of Abu Hommos, Alexandria, Egypt. ... Computer-generated image of one of the two Mars Exploration Rovers which touched down on Mars in 2004. ... Mars Mars is the focus of much speculation and serious study about possible human colonization. ... Illustration of the Phobos spacecraft Image of Phobos taken by Phobos 2 spacecraft The Phobos program was an unmanned space mission consisting of two probes launched by the Soviet Union to study Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. ... The following is a list of surface features of Mars seen by the Spirit rover: // Apollo 1 Hills Columbia Hills Grissom Hill Husband Hill McCool Hill Bonneville (crater) Gusev crater Thira (crater) Adirondack (Mars) Home Plate (Mars) Pot of Gold (Mars) Larrys Lookout Sleepy Hollow (Mars) List of surface... The following is a list of surface features of Mars seen by the Opportunity rover: // Argo (crater) Eagle (crater) Emma Dean (crater) Endurance (crater) Erebus (crater) Fram (crater) Victoria (crater) Vostok (crater) Bounce Rock El Capitan Heat Shield Rock Last Chance Cape Verde (Mars) Meridiani Planum Terra Meridiani List of... HiRISE The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera is a camera onboard the Mars Reconaissance Orbiter. ... Artists conception of a human mission on the surface of Mars A human mission to Mars (sometimes, manned mission to Mars) refers to humans going to the planet Mars, including orbiting Mars, landing on the surface, or walking on the surface. ... A Mars landing is when a spacecraft lands on the surface of Mars. ... A Mars Rover is an unmanned land vehicle for exploration of the planet Mars. ... Artificial objects on Mars that are currently in use are the MER-A Spirit rover and the MER-B Opportunity rover. ... Artists conception of the process of terraforming Mars Since the origin of the idea of terraforming, or changing a planets environment to produce a world that is habitable by humans, one of the primary subjects of study for potential terraforming has been the planet Mars. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... 2003 Transit of Mercury The term transit or astronomical transit has two meanings in astronomy: A transit is the astronomical event that occurs when one celestial body appears to move across the face of another celestial body, as seen by an observer at some particular vantage point. ... Deimos transits the Sun, as seen by Mars Rover Opportunity on March 4, 2004 A transit of Deimos across the Sun as seen from Mars takes place when Deimos passes directly between the Sun and a point on the surface of Mars, obscuring a small part of the Suns... Phobos transits the Sun, as seen by Mars Rover Opportunity on March 10, 2004 A transit of Phobos across the Sun as seen from Mars takes place when Phobos passes directly between the Sun and a point on the surface of Mars, obscuring a large part of the Suns... Earth and Moon transiting the Sun in 2084, as seen from Mars Earth and Moon from Mars, as imaged by Mars Global Surveyor A transit of Earth across the Sun as seen from Mars takes place when the planet Earth passes directly between the Sun and Mars, obscuring a small... A transit of Mercury across the Sun as seen from Mars takes place when the planet Mercury passes directly between the Sun and Mars, obscuring a small part of the Suns disc for an observer on Mars. ... A transit of Venus across the Sun as seen from Mars takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Mars, obscuring a small part of the Suns disc for an observer on Mars. ... A Mars-crosser asteroid is an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars. ... This article presents information and images about viewing astronomical phenomena from the planet Mars. ... The Darian Calendar is a system of time-keeping designed to serve the needs of any possible future human settlers on the planet Mars. ... Various schemes have been used or proposed to keep track of time and date on the planet Mars independently of Earth time and calendars. ... The Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) is an international interdisciplinary field research project being carried out near the Haughton impact crater on Canadas northern Devon Island. ... This article is about hypothetical native inhabitants of the planet Mars. ... Mars flag While not official in any legal sense, the Mars tricolor has not only been approved by the Mars Society and The Planetary Society, it has also flown in space. ... Fictional representations of Mars have been popular for over a century. ...

  Results from FactBites:
 
SPACE.com -- The International Mars Society Champions Human Missions (940 words)
Undaunted by the setbacks that seem to have NASA in turmoil, the International Mars Society is pressing forward with its activities to gain support for human exploration of the Red Planet.
Robotic probes have their place in Mars exploration, Zubrin said, but he believes that human missions will be much more reliable and effective when it comes to exploring the surface of Mars, even though such missions would be momentously more expensive than robotic missions.
And the most ambitious of the societys near-term goals the effort to establish a simulated Mars research station in the Canadian Arctic is well-funded and proceeding ahead of schedule.
SPACE.com -- Mars Society Research Blossoms In Desert (1228 words)
Zubrin reviewed the Mars Society's habitat work during the 2002 Space and Robotics Conferences, held here March 17-21 and sponsored by the Aerospace Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Mars Society researchers are hot on the trail of what may work best in opening up the Sun's fourth planet to extensive exploration by humans.
This labor of Mars love builds upon invaluable lessons learned from construction and operation of the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, the first habitat seeded on Devon Island in 2000.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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