San Diego Space Society

FMARS 2009 Crew Selected

Posted by Chris Radcliff in Mars Society, News on May 18, 2009

The Mars Society has selected a six-member crew for the 2009 expedition to the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) on Devon Island. From the FMARS site:

Crew F-XII will conduct a one-month mission at the Mars Society’s Devon Island facility in June 2009, with the results of their scientific experiments to be discussed at the 12th Annual International Mars Society Convention in College Park, MD on July 30 – August 2, 2009.

This year’s crew will be following in the footsteps of astronaut Mike Massimino, who recently sent the first Tweet from space, by maintaining a presence on Twitter, Facebook, and potentially other social networking web sites. More details about this and the rest of the mission will be announced here as they become available.

These expeditions are a great combination of participatory exploration, extended simulation, and solid science. The 2009 crew is particularly promising, with experience in mining, engineering, space station operations, systems integration, earth science, and education. We wish the 2009 crew well, and look forward to hearing their results in August.