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A New Constellation And Its Legacy
Posted at 10:51 PM on 5/02/04
:: 3 comment(s)
With the recent announcement of Project Constellation as part of President Bush's new space initiative, now is a good time to examine past attempts at building a successor to the Space Shuttle, so that we may maintain a fresh perspective. Written by James Burk of the Project Constellation weblog.
A Letter to Beagle
Posted at 10:28 PM on 16/12/03
:: 2 comment(s)
With the Mars Express Beagle 2 lander set to touch down on the red planet in a little over a week's time, Stuart Atkinson writes a letter to the lander that has the potential to change our understanding of Mars and our place in the universe.
Lost Mars
Posted at 03:22 PM on 17/09/03
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Have we lost our dream for seeing humans on Mars? Following the historic close approach of Mars in August, Stuart Atkinson eloquently expresses what many Mars exploration advocates must be feeling. "I’ve been giving almost the same talk, showing almost the same slides, detailing almost the same damned timeline for over a decade, to schools, community organisations, night school classes, and nothing has changed; we haven’t moved forwards an inch." But he still thinks that there's hope, if only we have the courage to declare that life is the reason why we wish to go to Mars.
Mars - The Movie
Posted at 07:17 PM on 7/08/03
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What's the best way to raise Mars' profile in the public? Stuart Atkinson believes that, quite literally, we need to place it in the public eye with a visual extravaganza named Mars - The Movie. And to give the red planet the justice that wasn't given to it by certain recent movies, it will naturally be filmed on IMAX...
After Columbia
Posted at 10:54 PM on 6/02/03
:: 6 comment(s)
"As a 16 year old space fanatic, I watched the maiden flight of Columbia in a state of breathless anticipation and excitement..." Stuart Atkinson, a lifelong space enthusiast and long time contributor to New Mars gives us his thoughts on the Columbia disaster and where we should go now.
Prometheus - Let's Make It About Life
Posted at 12:41 AM on 25/01/03
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Stuart Atkinson comments on this week's news of NASA's new nuclear powered spacecraft project - Prometheus - with a healthy dose of realism, thoughts about cloning, and life on Mars and in the universe. It's not science that will get the public to support a manned mission to Mars, argues Atkinson - it's all about life.
Two Weeks on Mars
Posted at 02:05 PM on 5/12/02
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For the next two weeks, Adrian Hon (the editor of New Mars) will be taking part in a rotation at the Mars Society's Desert Research Station in Utah. Adrian will be serving as the Health and Safety Officer, as well as conducting field microbiological and psychological experiments. You can read a daily photo journal of Adrian's experiences at the MDRS at a New Mars special site called Two Weeks on Mars.
Turner's Mars
Posted at 11:56 AM on 15/09/02
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In an excellent article, Stuart Atkinson examines the relationship between explorers and artists. During the exploration of the 'New World' and the Wild West, explorer-artists such as John White and George Catlin played a vital role in the settlement of America by bringing the landscapes they painted home, inspiring many to travel to the frontiers. Atkinson argues that during the exploration of Mars, artists could once again allow people at home, on Earth, to appreciate the essence of the red planet in a way that no photo can.
Reflections on the Mars Society after the fifth convention
Posted at 12:01 PM on 20/08/02
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The Mars Society's annual convention represents the high point of the year for a worldwide community of members, meeting to discuss the latest developments in Mars-related science, public and political outreach, education and the arts. Patrick Banks writes a retrospective of the Mars Society after it returned once again to Boulder, Colorado for its fifth convention in August.
Chris McKay’s Three Questions
Posted at 07:51 PM on 25/06/02
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Many people often ask why we should go to Mars - what could we possibly learn from a dead planet millions of miles away? Dr. Chris McKay, a NASA planetary scientist specialising in the study of Mars, believes that Mars may be able to help us answer three simple questions: How did life begin? Are we alone? And where are we going? New Mars Staff Writer Joel McKinnon talked to Chris McKay about these three questions, panspermia and whether we can afford to wait to go to Mars.
Between Science and Science Fiction
Posted at 10:10 PM on 13/06/02
:: 9 comment(s)
Ever since the days of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, science fiction has formidably shaped the public's perception of science and in some cases has predicted its progress. While authors such as Arthur C Clarke hit the mark on satellites and others successfully predicted mechanical pets and artificial meat, we have still yet to see glorious spinning space stations. Award-winning author and astrophysicist Gregory Benford recently dealt with these issues in a lecture given at Foothills College in California, and talked also about the human passion for exploration and the corresponding tendency to withdraw into isolation, as well as possibility of terraforming the Moon. New Mars staff writer Joel McKinnon covered the event.
An Introduction to Martian Time
Posted at 08:19 PM on 4/04/02
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It's hard enough to get the Mars advocacy community to agree on issues such as sample return missions, but imagine trying to achieve a consensus for a new method of timekeeping and calendar for an entire world! With a day length of 24 hours and 37 minutes, and a year lasting 687 (Earth) days, many solutions for timekeeping have been proposed for Mars but none agreed on. Thomas Gangale and Marilyn Dudley-Rowley look into the issues of Martian Time that will become increasingly important as our exploration of the red planet continues.
Contact
Posted at 01:07 PM on 23/03/02
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Should aliens ever decide to land on Earth, they'd probably pick Contact to make their first appearance. Held in the Bay Area from March 1st-3rd, the 19th Contact Conference covered an ambitious array of topics including anthropology, astrobiology, planetary science and more, with speakers such as Apollo Astronaut Rusty Schweickart, Frank Drake and Robert Zubrin. Even though no extra-terrestrials were (visibly) in presence, they'd have been more than welcome as long as they could have survived an inevitable barrage of questions from the assembled scientists, authors and artists. New Mars staff writer Joel McKinnon reported from the first day of the conference.
First Mars Society UK Symposium
Posted at 11:25 PM on 25/01/02
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Adrian Hon presents an in-depth report on the first Mars Society UK Symposium. With speakers from Dr. Robert Zubrin to Prof. Colin Pillinger, the director of the Beagle 2 Mars lander, the symposium certainly had an interesting range of presentations and was by all accounts a resounding success.
Reality Bites
Posted at 01:20 PM on 8/01/02
:: 16 comment(s)
"After dark tonight, I won't be able to go outside and see numerous space stations spinning gracefully in the sky to a Straussian soundtrack, nor will I watch Pan Am shuttles and tourist spaceplanes flitting between them. There are no IKEA-outfitted science outposts on the Moon, no orange-spacesuited astronauts slowly walking down ramps into the floodlit depths of excavated lunar craters."
Let's face it, 2001 wasn't all it was shaped up to be, and despite Pathfinder and the Global Surveyor, the public aren't showing any signs of increased interest in Mars. Stuart Atkinson laments the sorry state of Mars' portrayal in entertainment media and gives a few ideas about how things could be made better.
For A Pristine Martian Sunset
Posted at 11:03 AM on 4/01/02
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When the first humans land on Mars, what will they see and experience when they look to horizon at sunset? Ryder Miller considers the importance of sunsets to the human condition and how we must rethink our priorities in the exploration of Mars.
Opportunity springs from chaos
Posted at 07:17 PM on 12/10/01
:: 7 comment(s)
What is the future for manned missions to Mars in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks? Joel McKinnon examines how the Mars advocacy movement must respond to the disaster.
Pieces of Earth
Posted at 11:09 PM on 1/10/01
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Exploring Mars will enlighten us not only about the red planet, but also the entire Solar System through its rich complement of meteorites. Stuart Atkinson considers how some of these meteorites may have originated from the most unexpected places of all...
Implications of Martian Life - Mars Society Conference 2001
Posted at 01:40 PM on 27/09/01
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Joel McKinnon airs his views on the implications on the existence - and non-existence - of Martian life based around presentations at the 2001 Mars Society Conference. As ever, the issue of terraformation is discussed here with the usual suspects involved; Chris McKay, Robert Zubrin and the never-disappointing Kim Stanley Robinson.
Should Hirst be First?
Posted at 06:31 PM on 7/08/01
:: 6 comment(s)
In this Perspective, Stuart Atkinson takes issue with Damien Hirst's spot painting being the first artwork to land on another planet via the Beagle 2 Mars Lander.
Martian Landscape Poems
Posted at 06:13 PM on 7/08/01
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Written by Richard Poss. Part of the Mars Tales issue.
Killer B's: An exploration into Martian 'B' Scifi
Posted at 04:29 PM on 7/08/01
:: 1 comment(s)
Ryder W. Miller surveys over a hundred years of Martian science fiction, from War of the Worlds to The Martians. Part of the Mars Tales issue.
James Cameron Talks Mars
Posted at 04:09 PM on 7/08/01
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The Standing Room Only event of the Mars Society's 2nd Annual Convention was without a doubt filmmaker James Cameron's address to an audience of 700+. How do you top Titanic? What's the king of the world aiming for next? Mars.
While Cameron talked at length about his two current Mars projects, he also spoke of his own feelings toward human Mars exploration. This article includes a few excerpts from his speech.
A Return to Utopia?
Posted at 04:02 PM on 7/08/01
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Julian A. Hiscox, Howell G. M. Edwards and David Wynn-Williams present a look at the search for life on Mars and throughout the Solar System and consider the range of environments in which life can survive.
Mars Express: It's Art, Jim...
Posted at 03:50 PM on 7/08/01
:: 2 comment(s)
On the United Kingdom's first interplanetary space probe will be riding the first artwork that will travel to another world. Stuart Atkinson finds out more about the extraordinary spot painting by Damien Hirst that will be hitching a ride on the Beagle 2 lander.
90 Days in a Can
Posted at 03:39 PM on 7/08/01
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David S. F. Portree provides a fascinating account of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project carried out in 1997, in which four NASA scientists lived in an air-tight life support chamber for ninety days to gather data for extended human missions in space.
The Influence of the Martian Frontier on Technological Development
Posted at 01:11 PM on 7/08/01
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Will the colonists of Mars really make significant technological advances, as predicted in The Case for Mars? Examining the lessons history has taught us from the last great frontier humanity colonized, America, Vernard Foley believes so.
Reflections on the 100-Year Anniversary of The War of the Worlds
Posted at 12:25 PM on 7/08/01
:: 3 comment(s)
On the 100th anniversary of The War of the Worlds, Ryder W. Miller explores the literary heritage of the red planet and how the prevailing science fiction of the past can be used as an indicator for our attitudes and perceptions of the future.
Yes, But Will the People Support Us?
Posted at 12:09 PM on 7/08/01
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Former Manager of the NASA Exploration Programs Office Dr. Humbolt C. Mandell considers the other problem in sending humans to Mars; convincing the humans on Earth that they should pay for the mission.
For Argument's Sake: A guide to the whys of space - and Mars - exploration
Posted at 11:50 AM on 7/08/01
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Richard L. Poss provides an excellent analysis of the various arguments used for and against the exploration and colonization of Mars, drawing comparisons with our current situation and similar historical events in the past.
We Want to Go! Self-Selected Crews for Mars Exploration
Posted at 01:09 AM on 7/08/01
:: 3 comment(s)
With all the travails of an extended mission to Mars, any crew must be an integrated and compatible team. In this article, Roy Clymer argues the case for the self-selection of teams as the way forward for increasing compatibility within teams.
Our Future on Mars from My Perspective as a Twelve Year Old
Posted at 12:38 AM on 7/08/01
:: 9 comment(s)
Originally published in 1998, Kathleen Bohne gave this refreshing look at the colonization and terraformation of Mars at the first Mars Society Convention in Colorado as a twelve year old.
The Gen-X Rallying Cry? To Mars!
Posted at 11:59 PM on 6/08/01
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Could the true goal of Generation X be to send the first humans to Mars? George Whiteside believes so.
The Mars Academy: Student Astronauts in Cyberspace
Posted at 11:48 PM on 6/08/01
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Gabriel Rshaid, co-ordinator of the Mars Academy in Buenos Aires discusses the problems, opportunities and rewards in teaching space science to high school students.
The Significance of the Martian Frontier
Posted at 09:13 PM on 25/07/01
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Dr. Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society International, discusses the coming importance of the Martian Frontier and draws parallels to the American Frontier of the 19th century. Zubrin argues that Mars is unique among the bodies within the Solar System and offers many characteristics that could prove to be invaluable to humanity.
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