For Immediate Release
The Mars Society Capital Area Chapter
Contact: Joe
Webster
Outreach Coordinator
jwebster@hsdwdc.com
In the past, NASA would build and launch two spacecraft
to accomplish a
mission as a matter of routine. Examples include
Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager
1 and 2, and the Viking 1 and 2 missions to Mars.
In these cases, the
success of the first mission allowed riskier options
with the second,
producing a corresponding increase in scientific return.
Other, lesser
known pairs of spacecraft such as Mariner 8 and 9 proved
the other side of
the theory ? if one spacecraft experiences a failure,
there would still be a
scientific return from the other. The National
Capital Area Chapter of the
Mars Society hopes to see NASA return to this proven
strategy for both the
2003 mission as well as future robotic expeditions to
the Red Planet.
Founded in August 1998, the Mars Society is a non-profit
organization with
over 3,000 members in 30 countries. Its purpose
is to further the goal of
the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet via
both public and
political outreach, as well as private research.
For more information,
please visit the Mars Society website at http://www.marssociety.org
The Capitol Area Chapter endeavors to use its proximity
to the seat of
government to foster support for these goals at both
the local and national
levels. For more information, please visit the
Chapter's website at
http://chapters.marssociety.org/usa/dc/.
The local chapter also holds
meetings on the last Thursday of every month, at the
Challenger Center for
Space Sciences Education, 1250 N. Pitt Street, in Old
Town Alexandria. The
public is welcome to attend the meetings, and admission
is free.