Written submissions from teachers, scientists, engineers, social theorists, managers, writers and artists are welcomed. Full papers will be reviewed and published in accordance with the DEEWR guidelines.

Topics include (but are not limited to):

• Mars - Earth analogue comparisons,
• strategies and technologies for surface exploration,
• field science for exploration,
• recruiting the next generation of explorers, astronauts, scientists and engineers,
• educational needs for a spacefaring culture,
• the Mars Society as a culture,
• new concepts in project management,
• remote-area engineering,
• Mars as an inspiration to science students and artists.

Keynote Speakers:

Dr Vadim Gushin - Lead Researcher, Institute of Bio-Medical Problems, Ministry of Health, Moscow, Russia - Dr Gushin is the Principle Investigator of the MARS 500 experiment being held by the European Space Agency and the Russian Space Agency to study the factors of long duration Human space flight to Mars and return. Dr Gushin will dicuss the findings from the intitial 125 day mission and the 520 day mission. Dr Gushin is also a Co-Investigator of Crewmember and Crew-Ground Interaction During International Space Station Missions. He also has a role as Medical Advisor to Russian tennis players Svetlana Kuznetcova, Mikhail Youzhny and others. Kuznetcova and Youzhmy competed in the 2011 Australian Open.
Dr Chris McKay - Space Science and Astrobiology at NASA Ames Research Center. Dr McKay received his Ph.D. in AstroGeophysics from the University of Colorado in 1982. His research interest currently focuses on the evolution of the solar system and the origin of life. He is also actively involved in planning for future Mars missions including human settlements. Dr McKay has also been involved with polar research since 1980, traveling to the Antarctic dry valleys and more recently to the Siberian and Canadian Arctic to conduct research in these Mars-like environments.
Dr Carol Stoker - Carol was raised in the Australia-like state of Utah (USA). She studied Physical sciences at University of Utah, obtaining her Bacherlor of science degree in 1976and obtained her doctoral degree at University of Colorado in 1983 focusing on Planetary Science and Astronomy. While a graduate student, together with classmates Chris McKay and Penelope Boston, she formed a club that became known as the Mars Underground. Since 1985 Carol has been employed at the NASA Ames Research Center in Northern California, the liberal and free-thinking wing of NASA. She has led numerous field expeditions to Mars analog sites in Antarctica and the American deserts and was a member of the science team on the Mars Pathfinder mission, and a co-investigator on the Phoenix Mars mission. Her current work is focused on characterizing a Mars analog site in her native state of Utah from the Mars Desert Research Station, a simulated Mars habitat that was built by the American Mars Society.
Dr Jon Clarke - Jon is a geologist with about 25 years experience, mostly in the minerals and energy industries and has also worked in the university and government sectors. He has undertaken field work in Australia, Thailand, Philippines, Canada, the US, New Zealand, and Chile, and been part of marine cruises in the Indian and Southern oceans. Jon currently works in the fields of aquifer mapping and characterisation across Australia and has contributed to more than 150 papers, reports, and abstracts Jon is Vice-President and research director of Mars Society Australia. Jon's Mars interests include terrestrial analogues of martian features including springs, slopes, and inverted channels, habitat design and ISRU, especially for water. He has spent eight weeks at MDRS 2003, 2010and 2011, and has been co-investigator to two NASA-funded research programs. Outside of work and Mars Jon's interest include his family, hiking, scuba diving, reading, and films. While work has taken him to five continents and three oceans he still hopes to get to Africa and Antarctica one day.
Prof Arcady Dyskin - School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Western Australia WA
Dr Graham Mann - Project Manager, Starchaser MARSupial Rover, Murdoch University WA.
Mr David Willson - Engineer and Project Manager of MSA's MARS-Oz habitat project TAS.
Mr David Cooper - President MSA Inc., CEO of Spaceward Bound Australia, Centre for Planetary and Space Studies, WA.
Mr Mark Gargano - MSA Education Officer, PhD Candidate, Imaging and Applied Physics, Curtin University, WA.

Call for Papers

Call For Papers released Full papers submission deadline(Amended): 31th May, 2011 Notification of Acceptance: 12th June, 2011

Call for Papers - 11th Australian Mars Exploration Conference Dear Colleagues, It is with pleasure that I invite you to submit papers for the 11th Australian Mars Exploration Conference, to be held in Perth, Western Australia at the University of Western Australia from the 23rd to 24th July 2011.