[MarsHome] Welcome to the Mars Homestead Project!

[announce at marshome.org]

You have been added to the Announcements mailing list for the Mars
Homestead Project.  Welcome!  You may have signed up at a recent
conference or on our website at MarsHome.org.

The Mars Homestead Project seeks to develop a unified plan for building
the first habitat on Mars using local materials.  The ultimate goal of
the project is to build the first permanent settlement on Mars, allowing
  civilization to spread beyond the limits of our small planet.

In case you missed it, we received our first press coverage from Wired
News back in June.  Both of our co-founders were interviewed for the
article, and we have a link to the story as well as an archived copy on
our website.

Our planning efforts are already well underway after a "kickoff" meeting
last month at MIT.  Phase 1 planning documents are expected to be
complete in November, and a unified plan for the first permanent habitat
on Mars is expected in the first half of 2005.  Once that is complete,
the Project will undertake more detailed planning and begin to plan &
build a prototype research base here on Earth.

We will work with other space advocacy groups to accomplish our goals,
and will offer a set of prototyping projects suitable for local chapters
and small groups to work on.  One of our goals is to expand the
membership of all space advocacy groups.

We are seeking interested scientists and professionals in many fields,
and right now we have a special need for those experienced with
Instrumentation and Control (I&C) and Information Technology (for the
habitat's communication, data collection, & IT resource organization)
If you possess this experience and have some time to volunteer, please
get in touch with us using the "Contact Us" page on the website or the
email address info at marshome.org

Non-professionals can also help out, those interested in "brainstorming"
discussions can join a discussion group that is open to anybody.  Check
out the "Discussion Groups" link on the webpage.  Those who would like
to volunteer to help maintain the website and work on other public
outrach materials can join the Communications team by getting in touch
with us via the "Contact Us" page or email to info at marshome.org.

We will continue to use this list for announcements on the project to
update you on our progress.  Thanks for your interest in the Mars
Homestead Project!

James Burk
Mars Homestead Project
webmaster at marshome.org / jb at jburk.com