The Mars Society is proud to announce the publication of its latest book, Students to Mars! This exciting new release highlights the achievements of high school students who participated in the International Design Competition for Human Mars Missions during the summers of 2022 and 2023.
A bold challenge: engineering education reimagined
Across the globe, top-tier university engineering programs introduce students to a unique and demanding challenge: the engineering design class. Unlike traditional coursework that tests individuals on lectures and textbooks, these classes require teams to collaborate and solve real-world engineering problems—like designing a jet fighter or fusion reactor—where trade-offs between power, weight, and cost must be made.
The Mars Society asked: Could this same innovative approach inspire high school students to tackle the most ambitious challenge of all—a human mission to Mars? The answer was a resounding “yes.”
The student competition: design, debate, and defend
Teams of students were tasked with designing a comprehensive human mission to Mars, balancing scientific goals, engineering challenges, and budget constraints. But this was no ordinary design contest. Teams faced a rigorous, two-part evaluation process:
Mission presentation: Each team presented its mission design, focusing on science return and engineering merit—key metrics used in professional space mission planning.
Debate and defense: The competition pushed further when teams were given half an hour to critique competing designs and defend their own concepts against critiques. This dynamic process sharpened their understanding and transformed knowledge into a powerful tool for innovation.
The debates were intense, the stakes high, and the results extraordinary. Through this experience, students not only gained technical expertise but also developed critical thinking, teamwork, and the ability to defend their ideas under pressure—skills essential for future scientists and engineers.
The results: creativity meets real-world innovation
The mission designs produced by these student teams were far beyond expectations. Driven by the imperative to maximize scientific return while minimizing risk and cost, their concepts rivaled—and in some cases surpassed—vendor-driven designs developed for NASA’s Mars exploration programs over the past two decades.
This may sound like a bold claim, but the proof is in the book. Students to Mars! features the detailed mission designs of all ten competing teams, showcasing just how far young, creative minds can go when given the tools, the challenge, and the opportunity to shine.
Students to Mars! is now available on Amazon in bothpaperbackandkindle
Source: The Mars Society.
