Monthly Archives: March 2011

Robert Zubrin on "Mars Direct" at the University of Washington 2011/02/25

Robert Zubrin, President of the Mars Society, gave an address at the University of Washington in Seattle,  February 25th on his “Mars Direct” plan and efforts to send humans to the Red Planet within a decade. Attended by students and faculty members, the lecture was hosted by Prof. Adam Bruckner, former Chair of UW’s Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics and one of the founding members of the University’s Astrobiology program.

The Mars Society would like to extend a special word of thanks to Gabriella Rios-Georgio, one of Prof. Bruckner’s students, for her wonderful work filming and editing Dr. Zubrin’s address at UW.

To watch Zubrin’s address, please click here

Skype "Mars to Stay" Plugin

It would be cool if someone were to lead an effort to create a Skype plugin simulating communication with Mars by calculating in real-time the three to twenty-two minute communication delay. Not only would such a free, public, high-profile project have practical applications but it could also allay concerns some might have leaving friends and family on Earth as the public plays with such a plugin.

Congratulations to The Mars Society’s 2011 Convention Poster Winner: Markus Iske

“The German Mars Society’s member Mr. Iske’s submission was well-designed, being both aesthetically pleasing while also incorporating a number of the major themes from our organization’s upcoming international convention [scheduled to be held in Dallas, Texas on August 4-7], said Susan Holden Martin, the Mars Society’s Director of Public Affairs.

New Pop Art Blog – Inspiration for Realistic Visualization?

To many potential space enthusiasts this kind of pop concept art makes space seem dangerous and exotic. Rather than a simple Mars-to-Stay Tuna Can, we run the risk of waiting for Battlestar Galactica and Starfleet Academy. Nevertheless this new blog deserves mention — hopefully it may improve visualization of near-term, realistic, affordable, doable space exploration. (Thanks to Pixar’s Ronnie del Carmen (@paperbiscuit) for bringing this to our attention.)