Mars Society

The Mars Society is a volunteer-driven space-advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the human exploration and settlement of the planet Mars. Inspired by "The Case for Mars" conferences which were hosted by The Mars Underground at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Mars Society was established by Dr. Robert Zubrin and others in 1998 with the goal of educating the public, the media and government on the benefits of exploring Mars, the importance of planning for a humans-to-Mars mission in the coming decades and the need to create a permanent human presence on the Red Planet.

History

The Mars Society was formally established in August 1998, when over 700 delegates – astronomers, scientists, engineers, astronauts, entrepreneurs, educators, students and space enthusiasts – attended a week-end of talks and presentations from leading Mars exploration advocates.

Since then, the Mars Society, guided by its Steering Committee, has grown to over 5,000 members and some 6,000 associate supporters across more than 50 countries around the world. Members of the Mars Society are from all walks of life and actively work to promote the ideals of space exploration and the opportunities for exploring the Red Planet.

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the Solar System, after Mercury. Named after the Roman god of war, it is often referred to as the "Red Planet" because the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth.

The rotational period and seasonal cycles of Mars are likewise similar to those of Earth, as is the tilt that produces the seasons. Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and second-highest known mountain in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact feature. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Mars trojan.

Robert Zubrin

Robert Zubrin (born April 9, 1952) is an American aerospace engineer and author, best known for his advocacy of the manned exploration of Mars. He and his colleague at Martin Marietta, David Baker, were the driving force behind Mars Direct, a proposal intended to produce significant reductions in the cost and complexity of such a mission. The key idea was to use the Martian atmosphere to produce oxygen, water, and rocket propellant for the surface stay and return journey. A modified version of the plan was subsequently adopted by NASA as their "design reference mission". He questions the delay and cost-to-benefit ratio of first establishing a base or outpost on an asteroid or another Project Apollo-like return to the Moon, as neither would be able to provide all of its own oxygen, water, or energy; these resources are producible on Mars, and he expects people would be there thereafter.

Disappointed with the lack of interest from government in Mars exploration and after the success of his book The Case for Mars, as well as leadership experience at the National Space Society, Zubrin established the Mars Society in 1998. This is an international organization advocating a manned Mars mission as a goal, by private funding if possible.

Society

A society is a group of people involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions; a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its constituent members. In the social sciences, a larger society often evinces stratification or dominance patterns in subgroups.

Insofar as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would not otherwise be possible on an individual basis; both individual and social (common) benefits can thus be distinguished, or in many cases found to overlap.

A society can also consist of like-minded people governed by their own norms and values within a dominant, larger society. This is sometimes referred to as a subculture, a term used extensively within criminology.

Doctor Robert

"Doctor Robert" is a song by the Beatles released on the album Revolver in the United Kingdom and on Yesterday and Today in the United States. The song was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded in seven takes on 17 April 1966 with vocals overdubbed 19 April.

Musical characteristics

The song is written in the key of A major, though the key center is B, thereby making it in the Mixolydian mode. The musical arrangement has staggered layering, with backing vocals starting in the second verse, the lead guitar just before the bridge while the bridge itself has added harmonium and extra vocals mixed. John's lead is automatically double tracked with each of the two slightly-out-of-phase tracks split onto separate stereo channels; creating a surrealistic effect supporting the lyric about drug use. An interesting feature is the suitably "blissful" modulation (on "well, well well you're feeling fine") to the key of B on the bridge via an F#7 pivot chord (VI7 in the old key of A and V7 in the new key of B) The extended jam that lasts 43 seconds at the end was recorded, but it was removed and replaced with a fade-out. However, John says: "OK Herb", at the very last second of the song.