The Mars Quarterly · The Mars Quarterly 5 Today a dynamic scientific revolution is at hand as...

The Mars Quarterly www.MarsSociety.org 1

The Mars Quarterly 2 Volume 1, Issue 1

Welcome tto TThe MMars QQuarterly!By Susan Holden Martin

If you are already a paid member ofThe Mars Society, we salute you withthis premier issue of The MarsQuarterly (TMQ), which is the firststep in the process of offeringadditional benefits to our members. Ifyou are not a member, we offer thispremier issue to you as a sample ofthe future issues that will be availableto paid members only. If you wouldlike to secure access to futureeditions, please join The Mars Societytoday.

This premiere edition of TMQ hasimpressive content: an exclusiveinterview with Mars Phoenix LanderPrincipal Investigator, Dr. Peter Smith;an article by NASA Goddard SpaceFlight Center Chief Scientist, Dr. JamesGarvin; an op/ed by former astronautand NASA Associate Administrator, Dr.Scott "Doc" Horowitz; and apassionate message from Mars

Society President, Dr. Robert Zubrin.We thank these individuals for theirtime and contributions toward thelaunch of TMQ.

Our intention in creating this newpublication is to offer a nexus ofdiscussion for members of the Marsmovement, and to mark and archivenational and international events in asignificant way. Each quarterly issueof TMQ will have articles and op/edsfrom many of the most renowned andhighly regarded people in the Marsand international space community.TMQ will also be a venue to discussthe important policy issues of the day,and will provide updates and newsregarding Mars Society technicalmissions and events.

If you would like to be a regularcontributor, or work with us on TMQon a volunteer basis, and haveexperience in any of the following

areas, please send your current CVand a brief description of yourinterests to us:

Advertising/MarketingAudience DevelopmentCopy Writing/EditingDesign/ProductionInternet/Digital MediaPhotography/IllustrationScience/Technical WritingStrategic Planning/Global Markets

We look forward to hearing fromyou.

We would also like to hear from youabout this premier issue of TMQ.Please send us your comments andsuggestions for future issues.

On to Mars!

[email protected]

TransitionBy Chris Carberry ..............................3

Home is where the Hab isBy Artemis Westenberg ....................4

The New Mars Frontier and theCrossroads AheadBy Dr. Jim Garvin...............................5

ARCHIMEDES UpdateBy Hannes Griebel.............................6

Phoenix - An Interview with Dr. Peter Smith ..................................8

Membership in TMSBy Patricia Czarnik ...........................11

Ares V - Bigger is Betterby Scott “Doc” Horowitz .................12

2008 University Rover Challengeby Kevin F. Sloan..............................14

TEMPO3 to Demonstrate Critical Humans-to-Mars Technologyby Tom Hill .......................................15

The Change We Needby Robert Zubrin..............................16

COVER IMAGE BY KEPLINGER DESIGNS

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In the United States, we are in themidst of a major politicaltransformation, one that may changethe course of the nation and willcertainly determine the future of U.S.space travel for decades. Those of usat The Mars Society intend to doeverything in ourpower to ensurethat trans-formation includesa firm commit-ment to humanexploration ofMars.

We sent 100 people to Capitol Hill inWashington, D.C. in 2006, to educateCongress on the need for anaggressive human space program.The stakes are much higher this year.There is a VERY good chance thatcurrent Mars plans could be delayedor even killed. In addition to increasednational political outreach efforts, thissummer we plan to send even morepeople to Capitol Hill. As part of the12th Annual International Mars SocietyConvention, we will be staging "TheGreat 2009 Mars Blitz" on Capitol Hill.If you would like to join us, or foradditional information, please visit:http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/Conventions/2009/convention-2009-event

This year, with newly donated funds,The Mars Society will reach beyondour typical support base. In addition,through increased paid membershipsand charitable donations, The MarsSociety and its various chapters willcontinue to be global leaders inadvancing the message of humanspace exploration. Wheneverpossible, we will team up with othergroups and space advocacyorganizations to encouragegovernment officials around the worldto embrace human space flight.

There is one certainty in theseuncertain times. If we sit back andjust hope for circumstances to movein our direction, we will not be leaving

low Earth orbit anytime soon. It is upto us to find opportunities in thesedifficult times — and by hard work andreal effort, turn those opportunitiesinto tangible results. To make this ourmost effective outreach campaign todate - one that will reach all

generations, weencourage yourinput andsuggestions. Inaddition, we havea number of newinitiatives and inorder for them to

succeed, your participation is urgentlyneeded.

Winston Churchill said it best -"Attitude is a little thing that makes abig difference." As space explorationadvocates, we must push forward witha confident attitude. If we do, we willmake an enormous difference. Hereare a few of the ways in which youcan make a difference:1. Help us engage President-elect

Obama and the new Congress.2. Volunteer to help The Mars Society

with our many projects andoutreach efforts.

3. Be a speaker in your community.4. Form a Mars Society chapter.5. Write letters to the editor of your

local newspaper.6. Become a paid member of The

Mars Society, or make a charitabledonation.

7. Create videos for YouTube andother websites in support ofhumans to Mars.

8. Promote the cause on blogs,Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, andother networking websites.

9. Brainstorm innovative new ways topromote the cause.

10. Ask a friend to join The MarsSociety.

11. NEVER GIVE UP!

Chris Carberry is the The MarsSociety Executive Director.

TransitionBy Chris Carberry

There is a VERY goodchance that currentMars plans could be

delayed or even killed.

Winter 2009 - Volume 1, Issue 1

PublisherThe Mars SocietyHeadquarters11111 W. 8th Ave., Unit ALakewood, CO 80215 USAwww.MarsSociety.org

The Mars SocietyPresident..........................Robert ZubrinTreasurer..............................Gary FisherSecretary ...........................Sara SpectorExecutive Director..........Chris CarberryAccounts Receivable Director.............................................Patt CzarnikWebmaster...............................Alex KirkDirector, Public Relations ...Kevin SloanDirector of Membership .....Patt CzarnikDirector, International Relations ..............................Artemis Westenberg

The Mars QuarterlyEditor-in-Chief......Susan Holden [email protected] Director ...................Keith Keplinger,

Keplinger Designs, Inc.Contributing Editors ......Chris Carberry,

Artemis Westenberg, Josh Grimm,Blake Ortner, Byron Wiedeman,

Gus Scheerbaum, Jean Lagarde,Joseph Webster, Kevin Sloan,

Patt Czarnik, Alex Kirk

A Note to ReadersThe views expressed in articles are

the authors' and not necessarily thoseof The Mars Quarterly, or The MarsSociety. Authors may have businessrelationships with the companies oragencies they discuss.

ReproductionThe Mars Quarterly is published

quarterly by The Mars Society,Lakewood, Colorado, USA. Volume 1,Issue 1; copyright 2008 The MarsSociety. Nothing herein containedmay be reproduced or transmitted inany form or by any means, electronicor mechanical, including photocopy,recording, or any information storageand retrieval system, without writtenpermission of The Mars Society.

Advertisers send email to [email protected]. Addressletters, general inquiries, or sendmember dues or charitable donationsto The Mars Society, PO Box 1312, BigPiney, WY 83113, USA. Please includeyour full name, address, and daytimephone number. The Mars Society is a501(c)(3) organization.

Home iis wwhere tthe HHab iisBy Artemis Westenberg


For veterans like myself "home iswhere the Hab is" is most certainlytrue. And for all the new kids on theblock, we at Mission Support want tomake it come true. As MissionDirector, I oversee a rather uniqueadventure, where scientists of manycreeds can test their research on Marsas close as we can create that forthem. After seven seasons, they stillflock eagerly to our Mars DesertResearch Station near Hanksville,Utah, as even the European SpaceAgency expects a betterunderstanding of what research andequipment needs on the planet Marswill be by using our quirky Hab. Forquirky it is, however hard theindomitable engineering team and themyriads of volunteers have workedover the years to make it practical andhomey for its visitors, it is still hardliving in a harsh environment of colddry and rough desert.

In the coming season we haveinstituted a number of changes, allwith an eye to make the Hab simplerin operating and upkeep. In space

terms: we are working on taking manypoints of failure out of every system,and where possible, replacingmachines with manual systems, thatneed no electricity. Also we are tyingthe Hab more closely into thecommunity of Hanksville by hiring andbuying locally. The supplies will bedelivered to the Hab before each newcrew by the local supermarket, repairswill be tended to by local support andlocal repairmen. Next to making theHab simpler, we aim at making theHab nicer to live in. Refurbishmentsfor every floor are planned, as it isyour home while living on analogueMars, and we would like you to havethe best of both worlds: In Simresearch and comfort.

I would like to introduce proudly toyou the people that make theanalogue research stations possible:The Engineering Team, at presentunder the leadership of James Harris,who recently took over from PaulGraham who dedicated so much of histime and creativity to the Hab over theyears, as Gary Fisher does for our

water recycling systems in theGreenHab; Peter Detterline inoverseeing the telescope in the MuskObservatory; the Science Team withJonathan Clarke as its head, andscientists literally from all over Earthgiving their time and advice to thecrews and the research projects; theMission Support CapComs that are thekind voice of Earth to the crewsstruggling with harsh Mars.

Of course without your manydonations, small and large, we wouldnever have the resources to outfit theHab, stock its laboratories and run ourcrew-seasons. Thank you, donors, foryour trust and belief in us. Thank youfor our wonderful home away fromhome.

Visit us at http://desert.marssociety.org/MDRS/ to keep abreast on what ishappening at the MDRS.

Artemis Westenberg, is MissionDirector of The Mars Desert ResearchStation in Hanksville, Utah. She canbe reached at: [email protected]

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Today a dynamic scientificrevolution is at hand as humanunderstanding and insight about theplanet Mars increases at anunbelievable pace. This time ofrapidly changing paradigms aboutMars is trulyunprecedented andit whets ourappetite for a futureera of humanexploration of theRed Planet. Inabout a decade, theMars of the Vikingera has beenreplaced with a"new Mars" in whichthe prospects for afruitful examinationof the biological potential of anotherplanet are at an all-time high. This eraof revolution has been catalyzed bythe NASA Mars Exploration Program(MEP), which was totally restructuredand revamped in 2000, as aconsequence of the loss of the MarsClimate Orbiter and Mars Polar Landerin 1999.

The new MEPhas established aunique "roboticbeach-head" onMars, andprovided human-scalereconnaissancesuitable forplanning anincreasinglyambitious andexciting strategy of Mars explorationthat could culminate in human on-siteexploration. The NASA MEP isclearly second-to-none in itsachievements over the past decade,both scientifically but also in terms oftechnological capabilities. Since the2000 restructuring, the MEP hasdelivered on-going and excitingmissions that include the MarsOdyssey orbiter, the twin MarsExploration Rovers (Spirit andOpportunity), the unprecedented Mars

Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), andmost recently, the Mars Phoenix Scoutpolar lander. Soon to come is the firstMars flagship mission since theVikings of the 1970s — the MarsScience Laboratory (MSL) is now

slated to launch toMars in the 2011opportunity. MSLwill explore thesurface at a sitemore scientificallycompelling thanany visited to datefor at least onemartian year. MSLis the culminationof a scientificstrategy crafted forMars by an

inclusive, community-based set ofactivities in 2000-2001, and itscapabilities are designed to be abridge to a next-generation of Marsexploration, and a catalyst for humanexploration in the future.

With the remarkable scientific andtechnical achievements of NASA's

MEP missions sincethe Mars Pathfinderand Mars GlobalSurveyor missionsof the late 1990s,there is danger thatthe pace ofdiscoveries,accelerated mostrecently bydiscoveries fromthe MRO andPhoenix lander, will

be forced to slow to a pace more akinto the period between Viking and theMars Global Surveyor (1980-1998). Itis important to recognize that after adazzling decade of Mars roboticsuccesses, the MEP is at a majorcross-roads.

When the MEP was replanned in2000-2001, there was a specific set ofguiding principles and programmaticground-rules established, in partthanks to the powerfulrecommendations of Tom Young's

Mars Program IndependentAssessment Team (MPIAT), which wasconvened after the losses of MCO andMPL. Over the past several years, theguidelines established with the MEPrebirth have been continuouslyeroded, and the ability of the NASAMars program to weather the storm ofchallenges associated withincreasingly complex missions andshrinking budgets has beencompromised.

The MSL mission, the first "flagship"class mission to Mars since 1976, hascome under attack from many frontson the basis of misperceptions aboutits cost growth and capabilities.These attacks, coming in the face oftightening budgets faced by NASA ata time of "change," have eroded theability of the MEP to develop asustainable Mars presence, asrequired in the stepping-stones to anera of human exploration.

With MSL slated to explore themartian surface starting in 2012, andthe MAVEN climatology-aeronomyorbiter scheduled to observe Marsfrom 2014 through 2016, that leavesthe key Mars launch opportunities of2016, 2018, and 2020 essentially openin terms of a NASA strategy. Fromnow (2009) thru mid-2012, the Marspresence we have come to expect willbe in the hands of missions now intheir extended phases of operation,including Odyssey, MER, and MRO.MSL will rely on the relay-telecommunications capabilities of 5-10 year old Mars orbiting assets,including Odyssey and MRO, duringits primary mission as well.

These predicaments raise a vitalissue — can NASA sustain a forward-looking Mars Exploration Program inthe face of other pressures, and takeadvantage of extremely favorablelaunch windows, such as that of 2018,to build a bridge to an era of roboticsample returns and eventual humanexploration? This is an importantquestion for the United States and itsspace program as new leadership

continued on page 7

The NNew MMars FFrontier aand tthe CCrossroads AAheadBy Dr. Jim Garvin

This time of rapidlychanging paradigmsabout Mars is truly

unprecedented and itwhets our appetite fora future era of human

exploration of theRed Planet.

Mars Science Laboratory Space-craft Assembled for TestingIMAGE CREDIT: NASA/JPL-CALTECH

ARCHIMEDES is an effort to probethe atmosphere of planet Mars bymeans of a hypersonic drag balloon, adevice known as a "ballute", with adiameter of 10 meters. The project iscurrently under study by the MarsSociety Germany and severalinstitutes of the University of theFederal Armed Forces of Germany inMunich. It is further supported by theAMSAT-DL .e.V. organization, the DLR,and several other research institutionsand industrial companies. The probeis planned to be integrated into theAMSAT's P5-A Mars satellite, and tobe released from the spacecraft whenin orbit around the planet. Launch ofthe P5-A is currently planned as apiggyback payload on an Ariane Vrocket, as it is standard practice forspacecraft of the German AMSATsection.

The scientific scope of projectARCHIMEDES involves in situmeasurements in the Martian

atmosphere, magnetic environmentand surface throughout almost theentire altitude range reaching fromouter space to ground.

Another important goal of theproject is todemonstrate andqualify the ballutetechnology forentry into planetaryatmospheres athigh velocities on arepresentativemission. The term"ballute", combiningthe words "balloon"and "parachute",was coined by theGoodyearAerospaceCorporation whenthe company pioneered thetechnology for NASA back in the1960s. Although an actual flight testwas never done, data gained during

their extensive research program canstill be used today in the design phaseof ARCHIMEDES.

The suggested payload suite isreflected in the mission name, which

forms an acronymfor "Aerial RobotCarrying High-resolution Imaging,a MagnetometerExperiment andDirectEnvironmentalSensors". Hence,the primary payloadconstitutes a highresolution camerasuggested by theDLR center forplanetaryexploration Berlin, a

magnetometer experiment providedjointly by the IGEP institute of thetechnical university of Braunschweigand the private company MAGSON of

ARCHIMEDES UUpdateBy Hannes Griebel

Artist's rendition ofARCHIMEDES entering theatmosphere of planet Mars atroughly 4.5 km/s.


The suggested payloadsuite is reflected in themission name, which forms an acronym for“Aerial Robot Carrying

High-resolution Imaging, a Magnetometer

Experiment and DirectEnvironmental Sensors”


Berlin, and the so called ATMOS-Bweather sensor suite suggested by theFinnish Meteorological Institute (FMI)of Helsinki. Additionally, a pyrolyticcompression wave temperatureexperiment by the IRS institute of theTechnical University of Stuttgart and ahigh sensitivity accelerometer builtjointly by the technical universities ofIasi and Pitesti in Romania areforeseen to ride in the nose coverassembly, which will be jettisonedafter the transition to subsonic speeds.

To augment the science return ofthe mission, a low weight low powerradar altimeter is currently underdevelopment for ARCHIMEDES whichwill give altitude accuracy between 1and 10 meters for a range of up to100km. The validation of this altimeterwill be part of the flight test program.

The flight and operations testingactivities are carried out withinprogram CLEOPATRA. Tests in thepast involved many major and minortests, most notably a large scaledeployment test done at the OlympiaHall in Munich in 2004, a parabolicflight test, the in-space deploymenttest REGINA and the in-spacedeployment and inflation test MIRIAM.

During the 40th ESA parabolic flightcampaign in June 2005, a 1:2 scaledmodel of the ARCHIMEDESdeployment system was verified.

The deployment system wasdesigned, manufactured and qualifiedusing facilities of the University of theBundeswehr in Munich, Germany. Byusing a servo-actuated interlockmechanism it was possible to resetstarting conditions with a folded,packed and locked balloon package inless than 50s after deployment. Thisallowed repeated testing during thecampaign. All test objectives weremet, the reliability of the deploymentsystem was found to be 95%.

A modified deployment system wastested in space as part of the REXUS-3sounding rocket campaign (projectREGINA). Parallel to the improvementof already tested structuralcomponents the deployment systemwas enhanced to further improvereliability. A second mechanism wasdeveloped and implemented toseparate REGINA from the REXUS

rocket. For evaluation of theseparation and deployment process acamera module was put on top of theREXUS rocket. After finishing themanufacturing process REGINAunderwent extensive structural,dynamic and vacuum tests in order toguarantee complete conformance withsounding rocket flight specifications.

REGINA was flown on April 5th,2006 from the ESRANGE facility nearKiruna, Sweden, on top of a Rocketlaunched by the Mobile Rocket Basegroup (MORABA) of the GermanAerospace Research Center (DLR) atOberpfaffenhofen. The balloon wasdeployed successfully.

Program CLEOPATRA so farculminated in the in-space inflationtest MIRIAM on the 22nd of October,2008. MIRIAM was to test thecomplete mission scenario for the firsttime, however did not meet all of itsmission goals when the spacecraftfailed to properly separate from therocket. MIRIAM's ballute had adiameter of 4m and was made of apolyimide by the trade name ofUPILEX. Launch this time wasprovided by the newly formedEuroLaunch consortium, of whichMORABA is a major part, from theESRANGE complex.

The next step in the development ofARCHIMEDES would be the repetitionof the spaceflight test MIRIAM. Basedon the architecture of MIRIAM, itssuccessor would feature not only adifferent separation mechanism, butalso an improved ballute, an improvedspacecraft bus and an improvedobservation system. However, fundingfor this mission remains to be raised.We therefore welcome allcontributions towards the continuationof this program.

To obtain more information please feelfree to direct inquiries to the GermanMars Society - an independentorganization affiliated with theInternational Mars Society - at [email protected] [email protected]. Moreinformation is also available at theGerman Mars Society's web site.

continued from page 5inherits a decade of discovery atMars (and elsewhere).

Mars will continue to dazzlescientifically, as the observationsfrom a decade of sustained roboticexploration are synthesized andbetter understood. Recentdiscoveries suggest a much richerhistory of persistent surface watersand a modern era of "buried wateras ice" that may be a critical elementin any strategy that searches forevidence of life off of planet Earth.

There is no question the MEP hasdelivered spectacular results andcapabilities that will feed-forward toessential future missions, includingrobotic sample return andeventually for human surfaceexploration of Mars. It is importantto recognize that a sustained "MarsObserving System" will enable theUS to continue its leadership role atthe frontier of deep space. TheNASA Mars team across such keycenters as JPL, ARC, GSFC, KSCand at affiliates such as JohnsHopkins APL and industrial partners(Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace,SWRI, Northrop Grumman, etc.) areready to deliver amazing newmissions to the Red Planet withinthe next decade. The opportunityfor such missions is essential, if theexpertise across NASA and itsprimary partners from industry is tobe maintained and strengthened.

While balance is essential inNASA's science portfolio, Mars doeshold a special place by virtue of itsproximity and the possibility that itmay have harbored biologicalactivity independent from our homeplanet. It is a bonafide frontierworthy of human wonder andexploration, and thanks to the pastdecade of discovery, it is ripe for anew era of understanding as wepursue our own place in the vastUniverse.

Dr. Jim Garvin, Formerly NASAChief Scientist, and NASA ChiefScientist for Mars Exploration, iscurrently Chief Scientist, NASA'sGoddard Space Flight Center


[Editor's note: this interview wasconducted in early November, 2008.]

Q: What is the current status ofPhoenix?

A: Winter is coming and the Sun issetting. It's getting colder and duststorms are more common. After a dayof high energy usage, a dust stormreduced our solar power and put usinto crisis mode. We have not beenable to recover, although we're stilltrying. We'll continue to try, but at themoment the possibility of contactingPhoenix is extremely low.

Q: Did the lifespan of Phoenixexceed what you expected?

A: When we wrote our proposal sixyears ago, we promised 90 primaryscience days, when we'd do oursampling — then 60 extended missiondays to take us up to Sol 150. Whatactually happened is that on Sol 151we lost communication with thespacecraft. So its lifetime is exactlywhat we estimated.

Q: What are the origins of Phoenix,and did The Mars Society have anyinfluence in the origin of Phoenix?

A: In a way it did. Two members ofThe Mars Society Steering Committee,Carol Stoker and Chris McKay, calledme and that conversation was thegenesis of this mission. So, it wasyour Steering Committee membersthat got Phoenix started. I alwaysthought that the one thing missing inThe Mars Society plan for colonizingMars was a destination — where doyou go? Connecting with the HiRISEexperiment would be a good start forthat search. After all, you've got tofind a place where you can drill a wellfor a water supply. The Mars Societyshould be actively involved with spacemissions, rather than just readingabout them in the newspaper.

Q: Do you see a role for The MarsSociety taking on a role in this type ofmission in the future?

A: It depends on what kind ofmission it is and who's going to beable to participate in it. Many of TheMars Society members, aren't free toparticipate 100 percent of the time.However, I think they could contribute

ideas and offer support in variousways, and certainly be part of a publicoutreach program. For instance, ThePlanetary Society likes to participate inall missions. The Mars Society coulddo it for the Mars missions.

Q: What are the implications for ahuman mission to Mars based onwhat you have learned from Phoenix?

A: Well, we're putting that storytogether now. As of today, I realizethat this mission is probably over, sonow is the time to pull together all ofthe data and figure out what we'velearned. We haven't quite completedthat, but the discovery of perchlorateon Mars raises questions aboutastronaut health. It is a seriousproblem if you find it in drinking wateron the Earth — even at the parts perbillion level. We're seeing it at a muchhigher level on Mars, nearly 1%. So,you have to wonder — are there othercomponents in the Martianenvironment that are actually toxic tohumans? I don't think that perchlorateis one of the worst by any means, butit was a surprise. It causes thyroidproblems in humans and futureastronauts need to take care.

Q: Would you call the discovery ofperchlorate a disappointment?

A: You know how they filter it outof drinking water on Earth? They usebioremediation. Microbes like to eat

perchlorate. It's a source of oxygenfor them and of course an energysource. So the perchlorate story hasmany levels of meaning. We're stilltrying to piece that story together.The fact that we have foundsomething on Mars that is consideredtoxic, although not extremely toxic,has implications for future missions. Ithink robotic missions are of criticalimportance before you dare sendhumans to Mars. Can you imaginebreathing perchlorate dust for a yearand a half? All of a sudden you'regetting these mysterious growths allover your body and a thyroid as big asa football.

I wouldn't call finding theperchlorate a disappointment,because it is a source of energy formicrobes. What it means to me is thatthere are still profound surprises to befound in the composition of theMartian soil. Despite all the previousmissions, to find something likeperchlorate, which is also the oxidizerin rocket fuel, just raises all sorts ofinteresting possibilities. Once youknow it's there, you can come up withways to deal with it — to be prepared.Humans should have little problemprotecting themselves fromperchlorate. It's the substance thatyou don't know about, that you're notprepared to deal with, that's much

Phoenix - AAn IInterview wwith DDr. PPeter SSmithby Chris Carberry


scarier.Q: Were you surprised how close

to the surface the water ice was?Finding water would seem to be apositive development if we intend tosend humans to Mars.

A: Yeah, that's absolutely true. It'sonly a few inches deep. Marsscientists who had studied the polarregion from space and had donetheoretical modeling thought it wouldbe just a few inches deep. I wasactually hoping that it would be a littledeeper. I would have preferred if itwas 20 centimeters deep. Then youhave a nice trench and you can look atthe history of the soil through thetrench, but if it is only 2 inches deep,your trench is one scoop deep and itis very hard to subsample that.

Q: Despite not being able to dig atrench, I'm sure the first images musthave been pretty exciting for you?

A: You know the alternative wasthat there was no ice at all and youwould have gone there with theexpectation of studying the history ofice and you wouldn't find any. So, wewere overjoyed to find it. Especiallyexposed by the thrusters which toldus right away how deep it was.

Q: What do you think was thegreatest achievement of the Phoenixmission?

A: I'm not ready to label the greatestachievement yet because we're justgetting the in-depth analysis going onin our data sets. As you know, wehave a fairly small team compared tosome of the other missions and we'rebeen just totally occupied withgathering data. The three majordiscoveries that we have now are allpretty interesting: The calciumcarbonate and the alkaline soil, theperchlorate story and the interactionof the atmosphere with the surface. Infact, we actually see it snowing on thesurface. Those three things I think aremajor discoveries, but I really don'twant to say that we won't haveanother one. We'd really like to beable to say something about organics— either positive or negative —whatever the truth might be. We tookthe type of data that should help usunravel that story.

Q: Shifting gears, do you see thispartnership with NASA to be a model

for the future particularly given thefact that NASA will likely have tightbudgets for the foreseeable future?

A: I like the model — obviously —it works well! When you have oneperson in charge of the science, itkeeps the mission focused on well-defined science goals. Some missionshave 10 PIs and do science bycommittee. Cross-instrument studiesare much harder to do when you havemany PIs that have strongpersonalities and don't necessarily getalong well. When the tough choicesneed to be made, the PI can,hopefully, make wise decisions abouthow to proceed. The next Scoutmission is called MAVEN (MarsAtmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN)and will launch in 2013. After that,nobody knows what the Marsprogram will become.

Q: Will MAVEN have the same sortof management structure as Phoenix?

A: It's a scout mission. A PI will beleading it, Bruce Jakosky from theUniversity of Colorado, where TheMars Society was founded. That'swhere it's being run and it will be anorbiter looking at the atmosphere.Hopefully it will be able to detect bio-signatures. What I like about thismodel is that you can actually operatea spacecraft from a university. Youcan have the full resources of auniversity and work closely withstudents rather than a NASA centerthat is set up to do engineeringdevelopment.

Q: How much outreach were youable to do within the University andthe community?

A: The University is very excitedabout the program. We were theposter child for the last year. We'vebeen involved in all sorts of activitiesfrom the dance department, the artdepartment…

Q: What did the dance and artdepartments do?

A: The dance department actuallydid an interpretive dance on spacetravel. Young school kids wrotepoems — then UA students danced tothe poems. It was really great. Theydid a couple of other interpretivepieces about Mars. The entireprogram had a Mars theme; really amagnificent night. The art department

painted a 60' x 20' mural on the frontof our building. Twelve students gotclass credit for mural painting. Also,the band did a half-time show aboutMars and they had a rocket flying toMars sketched out with all the bandmembers and then I think there wereabout twelve of them all dressed asaliens holding there cymbals and theyhad flames coming out of the top ofthe cymbals. The whole thing wasincredible. They also did a cadence "Idon't know but I've been told, planetmars is really cold…" with about sixverses. They were chanting it as theymarched around the field at half-time.So, there were all sorts of interactionsgoing on with the university.

Also, we got all sorts of publicity atthe university and they loved itbecause it shows them off as apremiere research university, runningtheir own Mars mission. Theydonated our operations building,which cost them $8 million.

Q: I think just this element makesthis worthwhile. You were able tobuild up excitement at your universitythat would not be possible at JPL orelsewhere….

A: And, we hired approximately 25or 30 students who worked with thescientists and supported the mission.Several of them have changed theircareers to become scientists. Theythink it's really cool now after seeinghow it really works. We had an opendoor policy for students who wantedto participate. I'll tell you, many of usgetting kind of old in the spacebusiness. We need the young blood.

Q: What do you think is the mostimportant next step for roboticmissions? Do you think we are on theright track?

A: Well, the next rover, MarsScience Laboratory, is quite complex.I sure hope it works. It's the mostcomplicated project that JPL has everdone. The landing system is all new.The complications of getting this roverto work are beyond what they everexpected. I hope they haven't bittenoff more than they can chew and thatwe really do have a successfulprogram. It's still not clear that they'regoing to launch next year. Ifeverything goes right, they can do it.If two or three things go wrong, they


may miss their launch date. Thatworries me. I think the MAVENmission should be a good one — it'san orbiter of course. Still there is anawful lot to be learned from landers.I'm a proponent of landers, as is TheMars Society. I think we've generateda lot of excitement by landing withthrusters…

Q: True. It is unlikely thatastronauts would land with airbags…

A: True. The Mars Science Lab hasthrusters as well, with a Sky Crane.

Q: What do you think are thegreatest challenges for the next 10years?

A: Can we get any more moneybeyond 2013? The Mars programsstarted evaporating during the last fewyears. We're in a position wherewe're not sure what our future is after2013. People talk about samplereturn, and then they're scared it'sgoing to cost umpteen billions ofdollars — nobody can afford it and itmight not work. So, what is the Marsprogram?

Q: I suppose it depends on the nextfew months to see what the nextadministration's true view towardsspace exploration and who they pickfor various positions.

A: As you say, it really depends onwho they pick and what theirinstructions are when they take over. Idon't know if the vision of sendingastronauts to the Moon and later Marswill survive. It could be cancelled.After all this development, it would bea shame.

Q: How do you see the relationshipbetween humans and robots in thistype of exploration? Where do yousee each of them being mostimportant?

A: I've been watching this programdeveloping for a long time and I don'tsee us any closer to Mars than wewere 10 or 15 years ago. Every yearwe move forward in time, the Marsmission moves ahead two years. SoI'm really a big proponent of a majorrobotic, super exploration of Mars.There are so many interesting placesand frankly we really don't really knowwhere to send a human on Mars. Wedon't know enough about the variousplaces on Mars to choose which one

would be best for human activity. Ithink we have a way to go. The placethat you would send humans to is aplace where you could dig a shallowwell, maybe down a couple ofhundred feet and have some hope ofbringing water up to the surface. Thatwould be ideal. Can we find that? Ithink we should try. But, I don't thinkthe polar regions are a good place forhumans to land.

Q: Other than extremes intemperature, what are the otherreasons for this?

A: Well, when you build a launchfacility, you try to avoid the polesbecause you like to use the centripetalforce caused by the rotation of theplanet at the equator. If you're up atthe polar regions, it's small. There area lot of reasons why you wouldn'twant to be at the poles. It takes anawful lot of energy to melt ice if youwant to use it for a water supply. Theice is at minus 90 centigrade, soyou're going to have to heat it up tozero and then you are going to haveto put in the heat of fusion to melt theice before warming it to roomtemperature. It would be much betterto pump liquid water if you can find itat an equatorial site.

Q: What do you think the odds areof finding liquid water? There hasobviously been evidence of itsexistence, but do you think it is likely?

A: I don't know the answer to yourquestion. But, Mars is full of surprisesand water is in there somewhere.What about these gullies? You know,we're learned a lot about Mars. Afterreturning in 1997 and during the last10 years we've learned a tremendousamount about Mars through orbitersand landers. I think if we continue thatkind of high energy exploration it iscertain that we will find things that areof great interest — like water belowthe surface.

Q: Do you have any othercomments that members of The MarsSociety might be interested in aboutthis mission or the general goal ofhumans to Mars?

A: Well, we went to Mars lookingfor a habitable zone and in preparationfor that, we also took a trip toAntarctica a year ago and did similar

science in the a remote dry valley — aplace that has not seen a drop ofliquid rain for 10,000 years. We dugdown to an ice/soil boundary. The icewas about 30 centimeters deep andanalyzed some of it in our laboratory,and by God if there aren't a colony ofmicrobes living in it. That gives me alot of hope for Mars. But we reallydon't yet have the right tools forseeing microbes in the ice/soilboundary. We're trying to piecetogether the scientific evidence todetermine whether this is a place thatis habitable. That means that thereisn't necessarily anyone living there —we're not claiming that there isMartian life, but does the soil have allof the right ingredients for life andmaybe not even today but maybe inthe last 5 million years when theclimate changed with the tilt of thepolar axis. As the climate warms upthere may be liquid water and as thesoil gets wetter, there could be a placewhere life really can exist. That's thegoal of our mission. We just finishedour operations phase and we have juststarted our data reduction andanalysis phase, so we don't have thefinal answers to that, but I hope in thenext six months we will be able tomake definite statements abouthabitability — either yes or no.

Q: It would be pretty exiting news,particularly at the beginning of a newadministration. Such anannouncement could have atremendous impact on futureprograms.

A: Wouldn't that be something. Ithink it really does propel futureexploration. Finding something ofgreat importance to the people ofEarth — not just a mineral that they'venever heard of — but something to dowith living creatures — I think theywould be much more excited to sendmissions to Mars — and to sendhumans to Mars. We're hoping wecan find something of that nature.

Q: Quite obviously, so do I. Goodluck in the hunt, and thank you fordoing this interview.

Dr. Peter Smith is the PrincipalInvestigator, Phoenix Mars Mission


Membershipin TTMS

By Patricia Czarnik, Membership Chairperson

Hi All! I am quite excitedabout this new venue forreaching out to members. Theultimate goal is to have a placewhere chapters can showcasewhat they are doing, share theirsuccessful (and not sosuccessful) projects, events,membership drives, etc.

The coming year holds a lot ofuncertainties and more than everwe need a strong grassrootseffort to continue our goal ofhumans to Mars. We need eachmember to continue spreadingthe word and we need moremembers. With the newadministration we will need tocontinue our efforts to informCongress to not only continuemanned spaceflight in the UnitedStates but to make Mars thegoal.

Over the next few months Iwould like to initiate amembership drive challenge forchapters. I would like your inputas to how you think would bethe best venue to do this. Thereare also plans to reinstate thePolitical Outreach contest forchapters.

Look for more to come infuture newsletters.

Contact Patt Czarnik via emailat: [email protected]

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__ Visionary ...................$5000 __ Explorer ......................$2000__ Benefactor.................$1000 __ Enthusiast ...................$500__ Friend ..........................$200 __ Donor ...........................$100__ Other donation ......................................................$_________

I’m donating $100 or more, please send an autographed copy of:__ The Case for Mars __ Entering Space__ Mars on Earth __ First Landing (a novel)__ The Holy Land (satire) __ Energy Victory__ On to Mars 1 __ On to Mars 2__ Mars Songs CD __ NEW! How to Live on Mars

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When I was in the 4th grade, I livedin Indian Harbor Beach, Florida about30 miles south of launch Pad 39 at theKennedy Space Center. I rememberthe headline in the local paper thatstated: "The Saturn V won't go up,Florida will go down!" On November9th, 1967, I watched the first Saturn Vliftoff; it was like watching askyscraper take flight! I thought thatwhen I was older that I might fly agiant rocket ship like that to Mars.

America had a capability matchedby none, we could send 118MT(260,000 lb) to LEO, and 47MT(100,000 lb) to the moon. The lastSaturn V flew on December 6th 1972and then America gave up the abilityto explore space beyond Low EarthOrbit (LEO). I have been fortunate tohave been afforded the opportunity tohelp explore space in LEO, but it hasbeen a quarter of a century since wegave up heavy lift and the associatedcapabilities to explore our universe. Itis time to restore this capability so thatthe next generation of Americans canbecome the world leaders in spaceexploration and enjoy all theassociated benefits.

In 2004 the White House issued TheVision for Space Exploration whichdirects NASA to:• Complete the International

Space Station• Safely fly the Space Shuttle

until 2010• Develop and fly the Crew

Exploration Vehicle no later than2014 (goal of 2012)

• Return to the Moon no laterthan 2020

• Extend human presence across thesolar system and beyond

• Implement a sustained andaffordable human and roboticprogram

• Develop supporting innovativetechnologies, knowledge, andinfrastructures

• Promote international andcommercial participation inexploration

In 2005 NASA conducted theExploration Systems ArchitectureStudy and determined that the bestlaunch vehicle architecture toaccomplish these goals was the "1.5launch architecture" consisting of theAres I and Ares V launch vehicles.The Ares I is optimized for crew safetyand provides the necessaryperformance todeliver the crewto LEO whiledelegating thejob of lifting thefuel, cargo, andother equipmentrequired forjourneys beyondLEO to the AresV. Every seriousstudy of spaceexploration architectures has come tothe same conclusion: you need heavylift if you want to send peopleanywhere beyond LEO. The airlineindustry has come to a similarconclusion: You can't send a Learjet todo a jumbo jet's job.

The Ares V is a BIG launch vehicle.The current Point of Departure (POD)design for the Ares V can deliver150MT (330,000 lb) to LEO. Thecombined Ares I/Ares V system cansend over 70MT (154,000 lb) to themoon, or 154% of what a Saturn Vcould deliver! This capability willallow us to do substantially more onthe moon, and enable explorationmissions to Mars and beyond. TheAres V and Ares I launch vehiclesbuild on the best propulsion systemsfrom the Saturn V, the Space Shuttle,and current Evolved ExpendableLaunch Vehicles (EELVs). The Ares Ifirst stage utilizes a 5-segment SolidRocket Booster (SRB) derived from theSpace Shuttle's 4-segment SRB, anduses an updated version of the SaturnV's J-2 (the J-2X) liquidHydrogen/liquid Oxygen rocket motorfor the second stage. The Ares V usesthe same SRBs, and adds six updatedRS-68s (the RS-68A) used on the Delta

IV EELV. The Ares V core stage isderived from the Space ShuttleExternal Tank but is larger in diameter(33 feet, the same as the Saturn V).The Ares V also uses the J-2X for itsEarth Departure Stage (EDS). TheAres I, using Probabilistic RiskAssessment, is predicted to have afailure rate of 1 in 450, while the goal

for the Ares V isto be better than1 in 100. Thisarchitecturedelivers highmission reliabilitywith a lowprobability ofloss of crewduring ascent(better than 1 in2,500). The Ares

I program has completed itsPreliminary Design Review (PDR), hasall the elements on contract, hascompleted initial testing for the J-2X,has hardware in production for thefirst stage which will have its first full-scale static firing next summer, andwill launch Ares I-X, a full-scale flighttest vehicle, several months afterlaunch pad 39B is released fromsupporting the next Hubble servicingmission. In only three years sinceESAS, real progress has been made indeveloping the Ares I and Ares V andtransitioning the Space Shuttleinfrastructure and workforce tosupport exploration missions. Sincethe Ares V uses much of the samehardware as the Ares I (SRB's, J-2X,upper stage structures, etc.) all of theAres I development work is directlyapplicable to the Ares V. Not only isthe hardware development on Ares Isupporting the Ares V development,but more importantly the "retooling" ofNASA and the contractor workforce torestore the ability to design, test, andoperate this class of launch vehicle iswell underway. So by separating crewand cargo to the maximum extentpossible, optimizing the Ares I tosafely deliver the crew to LEO, and

Ares VV - BBigger iis BBetterby Scott “Doc” Horowitz

Concept of Ares V in Earth orbit. image credit: NASA MSFC

O P I N I O N / E D I T O R I A L


developing the Ares V to do theheavy-lifting, the safest, highestmission success, most cost-effectivelaunch architecture is achieved.

There have been numerous studiesabout architectures to accomplishhuman missions to Mars. In generalthe conclusion is that you need to beable to deliver to LEO the equivalentmass of one or two InternationalSpace Stations; which weighsapproximately 250MT (550,000 lb), tosend a mission to Mars. Some havesuggested that EELVs or other launchvehicles could support spaceexploration. The table below showswhy this is a bad idea (or as myCalculus professor used to say: "it isintuitively obvious to the most casualobserver…"). In order to accomplish alunar mission a single Ares I/Ares Vpair will be launched with a singlerendezvous and docking. Theprobability of losing the crew duringascent will be approximately 1 in2,500 and the probability of losing themission during launch will beapproximately 1 in 85. In contrastusing the EELV (heavy variants) willrequire 8 launches with 7 rendezvousand dockings (6 of which will beautomated). For this approach theprobability of losing a crew duringascent will be approximately 1 in 133(assuming a 75% effective launchabort system) and the probability oflosing the mission will beapproximately 1 in 4.6 (not includingthe probability of an unsuccessfuldocking). For a Mars mission thesituation is even more acute. TheAres I/V system will require a single

Ares I and at least two Ares V launcheswhile an EELV approach would requireat least 15 launches. For the AresI/Ares V architecture the probability oflosing the mission during launch willbe approximately 1 in 46. For the EELVarchitecture the probability of losingthe mission during launch will beapproximately 1 in 2.7. As far as costis concerned, it is hard to imagine howlaunching 15 EELVs and performing 14rendezvous and dockings and on-orbitoperations could ever be competitivewith launching a single Ares I and twoAres Vs. In other words; don't send aLearjet to do a jumbo jet's job. (SeeFigure 1)

In summary, the only way to gethumans to Mars is to develop the AresV heavy lift rocket, and the quickestway to get the Ares V flying is todevelop the Ares I. If the newAdministration provides NASA withsufficient resources to complete theInternational Space Station andproperly fund NASA's Explorationprogram (Constellation), in the not-too-distant future a 4th grader willstand on the beach in Florida, look upin awe as the Ares V lifts off, and thinkabout being one of the first people towalk on Mars!

Scott "Doc" Horowitz is a retiredUSAF Colonel, F-15 fighter pilot, testpilot, four-time Shuttle pilot/commander, and previous NASAExploration Associate Administrator.He is a founding member of the MarsSociety, and has a PhD in AerospaceEngineering. He currently is thePresident of Doc's Aerospace.

Figure 1 Ares Ares Ares Heavy I V I/V EELV

LEO Performance (MT) 25 150 175 25Reliability (per flight) 0.998 0.99 0.97# flights per Lunar Mission 1 1 8# flights per Mars Mission 1 2 15Probability of Loss of Mission (Lunar) 1/450 1/100 1/85 1/4.6Probability of Loss of Crew (Lunar) 1/2,500 1/2,500 1/133Probability of Loss of Mission (Mars) 1/450 1/50 1/46 1/2.7Probability of Loss of Crew (Mars) 1/2,500 1/2,500 1/2,500 1/133

Author’s Note: The attached link takes you to a petition I have started askingPresident-elect Obama to keep Michael Griffin as the NASA Administrator.If you too would like to keep Michael Griffin as the NASA Administrator pleasesign the petition and forward to as many people as you can.http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/KeepMike/


The hot sun above seemed to maskthe torrential downpours that markedthe previous day, and didn't give anyindication of the unfathomable windscoming the next. For the five dozenstudents standing in a gravel parkinglot in Hanksville, Utah, the only pointof focus was the last minute testing oftheir rovers on this barren, rockyterrain in preparation for the next twodays of competition.

The first week in June is typicallythe time of year when most collegestudents are occupied with finalexams, or are just beginning summerinternships. Few would think ofpacking up a year's worth of hardwork and driving into the desert ofsouthern Utah for a friendlyintercollegiate, and perhapsinterplanetary, competition.

The students competing in thesecond annual University Roverchallenge (URC; held June 5-7, 2008)were not here on a "typical"assignment. There were notextbooks, no homework assignments,no lectures, and no extra credit —only a year of preparation, and fourdifficult tasks. Each task required theexpertise of students from many fieldsof study, all working together. Andtherein lies the biggest challenge of all- the one that doesn't appear in therules, or in any of the instructionsgiven to teams - just making it to theMars Desert Research Station (MDRS)with a working system. Robotics hasalways been known as amultidisciplinary field, and it onlybecomes more complex when thetasks the robot is performing becomemore complex and cover more fields.

The humans vs. robots debateconcerning Mars exploration has longsince evolved into the challenge ofbuilding robots that can aid humanson the surface of Mars. Robots thatcan join the team to supplement anastronaut's dexterity, participate inmeaningful science exploration, andeven conduct rescue missions. Workthis complex should require largeindustry and government teams

working with unlimited funds. Butthese college students are provingthat not to be the case. They areshowing that students aren't limited intheir ability to work on complex, multi-disciplinary systems, that they dohave critical project managementskills, and that when presented withthe opportunity, they can accomplishseemingly any task set before them.

In 2009, the URC challenges willonly get harder. More challengingversions of the 2008 competition'sConstruction Task, and EmergencyNavigation Task will be coupled withan Extremophile Search Task and aSite Survey Task.

While the challenges will be moredifficult, the one constant will be theenthusiasm and tenacity of the collegestudents competing. Every year theycontinue to impress the judges andexceed all expectations - all whilecontinually proving that there is nosubstitute for being passionate aboutyour work. If these students are thefuture, then there is a lot to beoptimistic about in these uncertaintimes.

Know any students who are up for thechallenge? Visit www.marssociety.org/portal/c/urc to learn more aboutthe 2009 University Rover Challenge.

2008 UUniversity RRover CChallengeby Kevin F. Sloan

TEMPO3 to DDemonstrate CCritical Humans-tto-MMars TTechnology

by Tom Hill


When humans travel to Mars in zerogravity, the 180-day trip has thepotential to leave them weak andfragile when they arrive. Using somebasic physics and the discarded upperstage that sent the craft on its way toMars, the crew can travel in anartificial gravity field, keepingthemselves fit for action when theyland on the Red Planet. The MarsSociety will answer fundamentalquestions about this technique with itsTethered Experiment for Mars inter-Planetary Operations Cubed (TEMPO³)project.

TEMPO³ is a CubeSat-based missiondesigned to test basic assumptionsabout tether-generated artificialgravity. CubeSats are small (typically10 cm on a side, though variations arepossible) satellites that have become a

sort of standard for universities andsmall groups who are interested inlaunching a space mission. Thespacecraft (pictured, in its deployedstate) will spin to generate artificialgravity, and then transmit datadescribing the amount of accelerationbeing generated to receiving stationson Earth. The team is alsoinvestigating other transmissions, forpublic outreach and potential scientificstudy.

Efforts so far have been devoted toforming the teams and starting designand public outreach work. Currentplans have us completing apreliminary design by early February2009, then having an independentpanel review it before team membersattend the CubeSat conference inApril. At the conference, we hope to

firm up potential launch dates, thenmove into final design and integration.

TEMPO³ is an all-volunteer MarsSociety effort. From team leadersthrough model builders and graphicartists, people who've expressed aninterest in a specific portion of theproject have helped greatly. We needmore people, however, especially inthe area of fundraising. TEMPO³'sbudget is $500k, though earlychallenges in fundraising have forcedus to turn a critical eye towards thissmall (by space mission standards)amount.

If you can help, or are interested incontributing, please contact Tom Hillat [email protected].

The TEMPO³ satellite deployed in orbit.

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The CChange WWe NNeedby Robert Zubrin

As the year 2008 moves toward itsclose, those of us concerned with thehuman future in space are faced withboth a crisis and an opportunity.

On the one hand, thesituation appears to bedismal. The U.S. budgetdeficit is running at arecord level of $500billion this year,with all signspointing toward anincredible trilliondollar red-inkblowout next year.Our new President,while not an outspokenopponent of the spaceprogram, has no track record ofsupport for it either. So, if budgetsneed to be slashed, NASA -particularly the Bush administration'sVision for Space Exploration - couldeasily end up on the block. This is allthe more the case since NASAunwisely chose to devolve the VSEfrom its original formulation as Moon-Mars-and beyond vision to a Moon-only program, thereby depriving it ofall popular support or scientificjustification.

On the other hand, the displacementof the Bush crowd from policy makingpositions provides an opportunity toreformulate the space program intosomething much better than the Lunardead-end that the VSE had become.Spending the next generation workingon an "Apollo on geriatrics" return tothe Moon would have been anenormous waste. Now we have a

chance to escape that fate.During the election campaign,

Barack Obama criticized the Americanspace program, saying it was no

longer inspiring people the wayit had done in the 1960s.

His point is well taken.But is the answer for

an uninspiringspace programcancellation, ortransformation?Do we simplyabandon the timid

goal of a return tothe Moon, or bravely

embrace the challengeof humans to Mars?

Calling for the initiation of abold space program in the face ofcurrent economic crisis may seemtotally unrealistic, but the fact of thematter is that it is in the toughest oftimes that the greatest of deeds havebeen done. It was the Lincolnadministration, faced with a rebellionthat threatened to destroy the nation,that initiated the visionary project ofbuilding the transcontinental railroad.It was the Roosevelt administration,faced with a fascist onslaught toenslave humanity, which initiated thegreatest scientific mobilization theworld had ever seen. It was theKennedy administration, faced withimminent threat of nuclear war, thatlaunched us on our path to the Moon.

With respect to the space program,the situation remains as it has for thepast three decades. NASA needs agoal, and that goal should be humans

to Mars. This is so, because Mars iswhere the science is, it is where thechallenge is, and it is where the futureis. But with respect to the nation, theissue has reached its critical moment.We are faced with, as Obama has said,quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "thefierce urgency of now." Because nowis the time when we decide whetherwe are going to rise to the occasion ornot. Is the dream of an unboundedfuture going to live, or will it die,snuffed out by a defeatist acceptanceof the age of limits?

"Do not go softly into that goodnight."

It is in times of darkness that thetorch needs to be lit. It is in times offear that the flag needs to be raised.

A humans to Mars program wouldhelp mobilize our economy, at a timewhen it needs to be mobilized, andinspire millions of youth to developtheir minds. But it would do more thanthat. It would raise the flag, the flag ofcourage, and hope, and the pioneerspirit. It would say to the world, and toourselves, that we will not acceptdefeat. That we remain a nationwhose great deeds will continue to becelebrated in newspapers, and not justin museums. That we as a nation arenot old, but young; that we are livingnot at the end of our history, but at itsbeginning. It would say, in nouncertain terms: "Yes we can."

That's the change we need.

Robert Zubrin is the President ofThe Mars Society.


THE MARS SOCIETY is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profitorganization with headquarters in Colorado, USA, committed tofurthering the goal of the exploration and settlement of the RedPlanet, via broad public outreach to instill the vision ofpioneering Mars, support of ever more aggressive governmentfunded Mars exploration programs around the world, andconducting Mars exploration on a private basis.

THE MARS SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Buzz AldrinPenny BostonChris CarberryJonathan ClarkePatricia CzarnikTamarack Robert

CzarnikGary FisherGus FrederickJames HarrisRichard Heidmann

Rt. Rev. James Heiser

Jean LagardeDarlene S.S. LimBruce MackenzieBo MaxwellSteve McDanielGuy MurphyAnthony Curtis

MuscatelloGabriel Rshaid

Shannon M. RupertGus SheerbaumFrank ShubertKevin F. SloanPeter SmithSara SpectorLucinda WeisbachArtemis

WestenbergRobert Zubrin

THE MARS SOCIETY STEERING COMMITTEE:

Robert Zubrin Declan O'Donnell

Richard Heidmann

Scott Horowitz Penelope Boston

The Mars Quarterly · The Mars Quarterly 5 Today a dynamic scientific revolution is at hand as...

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