Mark Eby and Chris Vancil,

As former high ranking representatives of the Mars Society, you have continually insulted and discredited ligitmate scientists who have participated on real Mars spacecraft missions. Yet you continue to insist that the Mars Society is beneficial to Mars Research. As a former member of the Mars Society itself, I want to say that it was because of members like yourself that I want nothing to do with your organization. Your only goal is to critisize scientists and researchers who have concerns with forward and back contamination issues and to seek further funding for your "Mars Dinner theatre" in Utah and Devon Island.

Your President (of the Mars Society) has demonstrated he has no respect for forward or back contamination issues with regards to the Earth and Mars. This can be plainly read in the Planetary Society magazine "THE PLANETARY REPORT" online for all to read. It is in this issue of the Planetary Report where NASA planetary Protection Officer Dr. John Rummel, SETI's Margaret Race and JPL's Dr. Ken Nealson all criticize Zubrin aboutfor his outrageous views planetary protection. But please, don't take my word for it, read the article here in this link:

http://www.planetary.org/html/news/opinions/hazardous.html

The Space Science Board itself published this detailed report about planetary protection showing just how important planetary protection is:

http://www.nap.edu/books/0309075718/html/index.html

Mr. Zubrin has reffered to himself in many media reports as "commander". Commander of what may I ask? Commander of a plywood silo built in the Arctic and the Utah desert you call a Mars Research Station? Here we see a bunch of immature adults running around in canvas and garbage-can lid helmets saying they are on Mars and doing "research". I recall watching a program in Buffalo when I was a child called the Commander Tom Show. Commander Tom also would dress up in a red space suit, with helmet and big black boots. He had a robot he called Promo and a space ship he called Rocket Ship 7. Sound familiar? No one on Rocket Ship 7 claimed they were doing important research though.

I am sure a small child would look at what you are doing and think "this it is great fun." But for some reason you call this "important research". Cite one scientific paper that says the Utah Mars Research station is important to Mars research?

This is in my view -- a publictiy stunt designed to sell books, merchandise, memberships etc. Sort of like the Star Trek franchise. For example: Your Mars Research Station (made of plywood and fiberglass) is itself in warm Utah. Do you really think Utah is Mars-like? More bunk isn't it?

Antarctica is the closest anaolg we have for a Mars-like environment on Earth and even that does not come close to the real Mars. So why not build a Mars Society Antactic Research station if you really want to challenge yourselves? Mars is a hostile place for human beings: dangerous radiation levels, dust particles everywhere; extreme cold temepratures; and possibly alien viruses or bacteria. Yet your group wants to go live there.

I was a Mars Society member at one point until I found out what it is all about. Money. I was invited to speak at one of your conventions, the one in Toronto in 2000. They charged me and other guest speakers $350.00 each to speak there. Where does all this money go? For canvas space suits, plywood silo's and plastic bubble space helmets? I can see this at a variety of amusement parks here in the US.

Life Inside Tall Tin Can in Utah Is All Mars
http://shockandawe.us/archives/Science/020323a.htm

An excerpt from the above article says:

"They go outside in white canvas space suits trimmed in duct tape. Their helmets are made from plastic light fixtures and white bullet-shaped trash-can lids. In their habitation module (the thing that looks like a silo), they sit with their laptops late into the cold desert night, typing up reports of simulated Mars disasters."

Does this really sound like Mars Research to you?

What about the people who come to Mars Society Conventions? They do pay this non-profit organization at least $30.00 and more per day to attend right? Then there are the "commanders" books lining the halls near the doorways to each speaking event. An you say this is not about money?

You support the "self-appointed commander of Mars" to send droves of humans to Mars for a colony, but don't consider that it would forever contaminate Mars with the billions of microbes that reside on our bodies so that any further life science studies with respect to any indigenous Martian life forms would be worthless. Why would any ligitimate scientific organization consider doing this?

Believe it or not, I am all in favor of sending humans to Mars but only after a scientific lunar base has been set up first to prove the technology, and only after Mars has been thoroughly studied by robotic life sciences spacecraft. This could take many years - perhaps even a century. Only three such life sciences spacecraft have ever been sent to Mars: Viking 1 and 2 and Beagle 2. Why so few?

Furthermore you and your co-horts have conspired to discredit on numerous occassions, scientists like Dr. Levin and Dr. Straat calling them "has-been scientists" merely because their Viking biology experiment may have found microbial life on Mars. This seems odd because it is perhaps the greatest discovery in the history of science. You would think a "Mars Society" would want to embrace such people. Yet, you discredit them at every jucture because you know that if there is life on Mars, it blows your scene with your vain dream to send humans there. It seems you would prefer to risk the lives of a human crew before making certain with robot spacecraft that it was safe to send them to Mars.

The confirmation of life on Mars would be the single most important impetus for future Mars Exploration, but this does not human missions does it. There would certainly be lots of rovers and landers sent but humas would have to wait until the life issue is resolved completely.

In my view, you and your Mars cult friends live in an utter fantasy world. Go ahead, and run around in your canvas spaceusit pajamas telling everyone just how important research playing "Mr. Mars man is" while criticizing those who hold public office for the puposes of protecting Earth and Mars against forward and back contamination. Real Mars research is being done by NASA the ESA, Russia and the UK.

Talking to both of you has been a huge waste of my time, I only do it to expose the baloney being fed to the public and media by you and your Mars cult.

A former fellow member..

BD