Mars Society Convention

Please tell friends, students, relatives – anyone you may know in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana or within driving distance of Dallas to check out the Mars Society’s Conference from Thursday through the weekend. “Get in the car and drive over.” Single day tickets are available; events run from early morning thru parties late into the night.

Attending can be less expensive than everyday costs of staying home: student discounts are available; free brunch will be served; a lounge area will serve snacks and hold evening parties – crash in the lobby, your car, or a friend’s room.  Ask relatives and friends to donate air miles; take a bus or shuttle from the airport to the hotel. Put your brain at the conference and enjoy sharing ideas about Humans to Mars.

THE MARS SOCIETY INVITES YOU to attend the 14th Annual International Mars Society Convention in Dallas, Texas.  The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, as well as the State of Texas, are considered by many the heart of the aerospace industry in the United States.  Lockheed-Martin, maker of the F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, is headquartered in Fort Worth, while Bell Helicopter is located in the DFW area.  SpaceX’s McGregor propulsion test grounds is a short drive south of DFW, and NASA’s famed Houston Space Center is also a few hours driving from the DFW metropolitan area.

http://www.marssociety.org/home/join_us/convention
http://www.marssociety.org/home/join_us/convention/marsconv2011speakers

Update (coverage from the Dallas Star-Telegram):

“The Mars Society, founded in 1998, isn’t made up people dressed up like Star Trek officers or aliens. They’re physics teachers, scientists and engineers. While they talk about the ethics and religious meanings of interplanetary travel, they’re also practical. Society members examine means of propulsion and train crews to live and work in Mars-like environments in far-flung regions of the Arctic as well as Utah, with some cooperation from NASA.”

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/08/04/3270751/international-mars-society-meets.html#ixzz1UA56P25q

Extraordinary Cassini Composition by Chris Abbas

(click on “vimeo” in the lower right of the player above for best resolution)

Director Chris Abbas from GiantKillerPandas.com and Digital Kitchen  created a remarkable video using individual single frame still images downloaded from the web for free. It has nothing to do with Mars but is still the most heroic work of art inspired by space in ages.

This video is created from free still images taken by the Cassini Saturn orbiter. Chris downloaded them directly from JPL’s Cassini Solstice Mission website. He used off the shelf standard compositing software and did not ask JPL or anyone associated with Cassini for guidance or ‘permission’ (unrequired). The first time those involved with the mission learned of his video was a few days prior to this post. Amazing. Heroic. A testament to individual artistic vision. Congratulations Chris this is by far the most inspiring video seen in a long time.

Paul Davies Plenary Address on ‘Mars to Stay’ One Way Mission at Annual International Mars Society Conference

Professor Paul Davies will give a plenary address to the opening session of the 14th Annual International Mars Society Convention, which will be held on August 4-7, 2011 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

A prominent spokesman for the concept of a one-way mission to Mars, Prof. Davies is a world renowned physicist, writer and broadcaster. In addition to giving a plenary talk at the Mars Society convention’s opening session on August 4th, Prof. Davies will also participate in a special panel discussion on the topic of a possible one-way mission to Mars.

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.)

IT’S UP!!!! The Beautiful New Mars Society Website is Live!!

Check out the Mars Society’s new website! They upgraded to a Google Sites solution. Thanks for your support and patience as we polish this new web presence to forward our Humans to Mars cause. If you have constructive feedback or if you are familiair with Google Sites (or willing to learn, think Blogspot on steroids) and would like to help the Mars Society, please write: [email protected]

THIS CLUELESS STEREOTYPE IS NOT BOB ZUBRIN…

While America suffers from a 30% high school dropout rate and ranks dead last in every education statistic we cannot afford to perpetuate easy-to-write stereotypes of “absent minded professors,” “science geeks,” and “socially inept engineers.”

Advocacy organizations attract and reward extroverted, dynamic, socially savvy personalities: even among space advocacy organizations the charisma and optimism of Mars Society leadership stands out. Humor is a constant feature of presentations at Mars Society conventions. The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station was designed and constructed by Franz Schubert, former lead guitarist for the band Devo.  Under the guidance of Gerry Williams the San Diego Chapter presents an award winning Mars Movie Night. Conventions often close with impromptu bands composed of members who are gifted, professional musicians. There are always pannel presentations by novelists and artists.

Zubrin, Frank Schubert, and others constructing FMARS (click to enlarge) 

If space is to be attainable it must be cool; science, engineering, and the social habits enabling their education must also be cool. Almost two million people have seen the indie film from which the above screenshot is taken: Pioneer One.  “Hired Mars Expert Zachary Walzer” is a cheap, one-dimensional character who would make anyone run from the Mars Society: characters leave the room rolling their eyes when Walzer speaks, he whines to Congress, even the scribbles on his charts have no bearing to a single easily reproduced diagram from Zubrin’s book Mars Direct. We cannot afford to let such easy-to-write stereotypes distract the next generation of engineers and scientists. 

Rhetoric aside, this blog does not insult individual persons or their irremediable attributes; no one should be called a “dork” in real life. The actor Jack Haley, playing Zachary Walzer, is interviewed halfway through this Pioneer One production diary: http://vimeo.com/16290264  It is frustrating to see in person he is not at all like his socially inept Walzer character, or even physically out of shape, but for some reason adds a whiny veneer to an otherwise exceptional fun caricature of Zubrin. Ironically, Jack Haley provides one of the best performances in this series; unfortunately, rather than incorporating Zubrin’s personality quirks into a cool, hip, charismatic, proactive engineer (with a strong, heavyset, commanding presence) — we are instead insulted by an old, tired, easy-to-convey cliché of “clueless science guy” (with a frumpy, blinkered, goofball demeanor).  The talented crew of Pioneer One worked hard to create this successful indie series; please encourage them to improve its portrayal of scientists and the value of science.

See this page for more on “how to write a film about Mars”
http://marsartists.blogspot.com/p/mars-positive-art.html
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Update:
From an email response by Pioneer One’s writer and co-director, Josh Bernhard:

As for the Walzer character himself, well, you write that you wish we had turned
 “Zubrin’s personality quirks into a cool, hip, charismatic, proactive engineer”
and that, believe it or not, was my intention.  Our success at conveying that is another point entirely.  With a budget of $6000 and limited experience in bringing narrative stories to life, having created something that holds together as well as it does is an achievement unto itself.  Now, moving forward, we can fine-tune the result and get even closer to the mark.