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RELEASED: Jan. 25, 2001 DANVILLE, KY-Lyle Kelly, president of the Ohio chapter of The Mars Society, and other members of the chapter will make a presentation, "Humans to Mars," on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Young Hall, room 101. The convocation is free, and the public is invited to attend. Kelly and others will provide background information on Mars and explain why they, and other members of The Mars Society, believe human exploration and colonization of Mars is desirable. The group will then present a detailed plan for landing humans on Mars within the next 10 years. A key to the plan is that fuel for the return trip to Earth would be manufactured on Mars, using the Martian atmosphere (which is 95% carbon dioxide gas) to create liquid methane. This would significantly lower the cost of the mission as the payload of the transport rocket would be dramatically reduced. The Mars manufactured fuel would also be used to power surface rover vehicles and other equipment on the planet. Kelly and his co-presenters will also provide answers to questions such as how oxygen will be provided on Mars, what the crew will eat, how they will communicate with Earth, and risks involved. He says a primary focus of the crew should be exploration of the planet, especially for evidence of past or present life on Mars. This is key, he believes, to revealing whether life is unique to Earth or general throughout the universe. At the conclusion of the presentation, which will include slides and other visuals, questions will be taken from the audience. -end-
Communications Office
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