The exploration and settlement of Mars is one of the most daring and audacious human endeavors of our time.
We're ready. Join today, get involved and be a part of the greatest cause of our generation.
University of Southern California
February 21, 2019
“We are much closer today to being able to send humans to Mars than we were to being able to send men to the Moon in 1961, and we were there eight years later. Given the will, we could have humans on Mars within a decade.” -- Dr. Robert Zubrin, Mars Society President
The Mars Society is the world's largest and most influential space advocacy organization dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the planet Mars. Established by Dr. Robert Zubrin and others in 1998, the group works to educate the public, the media and government on the benefits of exploring Mars and creating a permanent human presence on the Red Planet.
Mars Society activities include:
The MDRS is the Mars Society's Mars analog habitat located near Hanksville, Utah. Annual field seasons run from October through May, consisting of two week crew rotations.
Learn MoreThe Mars Society is planning a one-year Mars surface simulation expedition in the Canadian High Arctic at the organization’s Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) on Devon Island.
Learn MoreA Minimalist, Live-off-the-land Approach to Colonizing the Red Planet
By learning from past pioneers, Mars Direct is built for maximum results with minimum investment.
There is no need to bring everything to Mars, we plan to produce fuel on the surface using Mars' atmosphere.
Using existing launch technology, the plan drastically lowers the amount of material which must be launched to Mars.
Mars Direct employs minimal mass requirements, sidestepping the biggest roadblock to human exploration that we face today.
For more information, visit our Mars Direct Page
Through Mars Direct's design philosophy, the plan rapidly accelerates the timetable for human exploration of the solar system.
Exploring the Red Planet needs time, and future explorers will spend a year and a half on the planet's surface.
Mars is a great distance from Earth but by utilizing our planetary orbits, we can reduce transit time to six months.
Multiple habs can be sent to the same site and linked together, allowing for the beginning of a permanent human settlement on Mars.