Mars Society to Hold Annual Convention October 20-23, 2022

The Mars Society will hold its 25th Annual International Mars Society Convention at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona on October 20-23, 2022. The event will include a virtual attendance option that will be free for Mars Society members who are current on their dues.

After the convention, the Mars Society will post videos of the presentations on its YouTube channel.

This Year’s Notable Speakers

Jingnan Guo is a research professor at the School of Earth & Space Sciences at the University of Science & Technology of China. Her previous experience includes work on the Curiosity Rover’s Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument. She will give a virtual presentation on China’s efforts to explore Mars, as well as the risk of radiation for future Martian settlers.
Rocket Labs founder and CEO Peter Beck will be interviewed about his company and its future plans.
Arizona State University Clinical Professor of Space Leadership, Policy, and Business Greg Autry will give a plenary address on Artemis and its ability to build capabilities that can translate to missions to Mars.
Former NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green will discuss transplanting Earth life to Mars as part of terraforming efforts.
Dr. Jan Millsapps will give an update on an interdisciplinary STEAM learning platform known as Model Mars. She is a filmmaker who recently completed a documentary titled Madame Mars: Women and the Quest for Worlds Beyond.
White House Assistant Director for Space Policy Dr. Ezinne Uzo-Okoro will give a virtual presentation titled “In-Space Capabilities for Mars and Beyond.”
Voyager Space CEO Dylan Taylor will give a presentation on the future of the space industry.
NASA Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy will give a presentation titled “The Human-Machine Teaming Path to Get Us There.” As an astronaut, she served as pilot on the Space Shuttle missions STS-92 in 2000 and STS-112 in 2002 and mission commander of STS-120 in 2007. All three space shuttle missions contributed to the construction of the International Space Station.
Arizona State University’s Dr. Jim Bell will give an update on the Mars Rovers. He has led work on the science cameras for the Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance rovers.
NASA Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy Dr. Bhavya Lal will give a presentation on the strategic and policy challenges for nuclear propulsion on Mars.
University of Arizona Regent Professor of Astronomy Dr. Marcia Rieke will give a presentation titled “The Webb Telescope’s First Months: A Treasure Trove of Results.” She is the Principal Investigator for the James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared camera, NICRam.
Indiana University Professor of Political Science Dr. William Bianco will give a presentation titled “Russia and the Limits of Global Space Cooperation.”
Honeybee Robotics VP Kris Zacny will give a presentation on robotic space exploration and mining.

The Mars Society is very active in promoting crewed missions to Mars, including recently renting a booth at the annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas in August 2022. Programs include the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station in Nunavut, Canada, the University Rover Challenge, the European Rover Challenge, MarsVR, and Marspedia.