Here's the Goal:
The Hakluyt Prize is awarded to the youth who has written the best letter or group of letters to world political leaders making the case for initiating a human-to-Mars program.

Here are the Rules:
Eligible are youth between the ages of 12 and 22. All letters to be considered must be sent either via stamped mail and/or e-mail to relevant world leaders, such as Presidents, Prime Ministers, Science Ministers, Space Agency Administrators, and elected representatives. The more leaders reached by a given contestant, the better. Copies of the letter with a list of the addresses to which it was sent should be forwarded to mzubrin@aol.com, or via stamped mail to:

Mars Society Hakluyt Prize
Box 273
Indian Hills, CO 80454
USA

An English translation should be provided for letters written in a language other than English.

The Prize:
The winner of the contest will receive a Bushnell telescope and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Mars Society International Convention in Toronto, August 10-13, 2000. To be considered for this year's Hakluyt Prize, entries must be received by May 31, 2000.

The Inspiration:
The Hakluyt Prize is named after Richard Hakluyt, the brilliant pamphleteer, whose writings, addressed to Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Francis Walsingham, and other influentials in Tudor England convinced that country's power elite to make the policy decisions that led to the establishment of the first British colonies in North America. If not for Richard Hakluyt, the United States probably would not exist.