The First Words competition has just launched! First Words has been organized by New Mars and the Mars Society, and in it we’d like to know what you think the first words on Mars will be. There are over $300 in prizes among the five categories you can enter (Most Historic, Most Humorous, Most Original, In Five Words and Out of Context) and it promises to be a lot of fun.
First Words will be lasting for the duration of World Space Week (October 4th-10th).
Filed under: Meta on October 3rd, 2002 | Comments Off
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.
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Filed under: Articles on September 15th, 2002 | 5 Comments »
Adrian Hon (editor of New Mars) has just returned from Washington DC. That’d explain all the new articles then… Also, check out our plans for the New Mars project First Words in the forums.
Filed under: Meta on August 20th, 2002 | Comments Off
For the most part, the non-fiction books New Mars reviews have a general interest ‘coffee table’ format. Mapping Mars by Oliver Morton represents a different type of book - no, it isn’t about maps of Mars - that explores the place that Mars inhabits in our culture, both in the past and the present. While not ignoring the great role that science has had in shaping our perceptions of Mars, it covers the influence made by artists, philosophers and poets. Stuart Atkinson reviews Mapping Mars and investigates whether it has anything truly original to offer to the over-saturated Mars non-fiction field.
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Filed under: Reviews on August 20th, 2002 | 2 Comments »
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.
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Filed under: Articles on August 20th, 2002 | 1 Comment »
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.
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Filed under: Articles on June 25th, 2002 | 2 Comments »
At the end of 2003, half a dozen years after Sojourner finally ground to a halt on the dusty, boulder-strewn floor of the flood-carved Ares Valles, spiked wheels will once again be rolling across the surface of the Red Planet. But this time not one, but two rovers are going to be sent to Mars - the twin Mars Exploration Rovers. New Mars Staff Writer Stuart Atkinson talks to the principal investigator for the MER mission, Steven Squyres, about his previous experience in Mars missions and his hopes for the MER.
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Filed under: Interviews on June 18th, 2002 | 3 Comments »
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.
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Filed under: Articles on June 13th, 2002 | 9 Comments »
Author of two Nebula award-winning novels as well as ‘The Martian Race’, Gregory Benford is one of the world’s best hard science fiction writers. In addition to writing novels, Greg Benford is also an astrophysicist and sits on the Board of Directors of the Mars Society. Joel McKinnon talks to Greg about his thoughts on the Mars Analogue Research Stations, the public’s interest in a human mission to Mars and his favorite science fiction novels.
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Filed under: Interviews on June 13th, 2002 | No Comments »
Stop press! Next Thursday, NASA will announce the discovery of huge water ice oceans on Mars. Lying less than a metre beneath the surface south of 60
Filed under: Meta on May 26th, 2002 | Comments Off
