Red Planet Waning? Mars Society Battles Indifference to Exploration

Posted by tourdemars to Mars Society at August 13, 2002 12:00 PM

An ongoing war on terrorism, a shaky economy, as well as disinterested politicians and a less-than-stellar NASA vision of the future - all these facts have conspired to make the quest for Mars seemingly more distant than ever. There is no doubt that the technical know how for dispatching humans to the red planet is available. Sure, a little touch of robotics and automation here…some interplanetary Internet and artificial gravity there would help. That being said, this long-held flight of fantasy can become a 21st century certainty. Yet despite the current environment, some 400 humans-to-Mars supporters - scientists, engineers, interested public, and a past space traveler among their number - gathered to attend the Mars Society's fifth international convention, held August 8-11 at the University of Colorado at Boulder.