By George Howard, KCMO Mars Society Director.
Welcome to the KCMO Mars Society Chapter Page. The Mars Society is a new Space Interest group established in August of 1998.
The first KCMO Mars Society meeting was held on October 25, 1998 at the Linda Hall Library of Science Engineering and Technology on the campus of the University of Missouri Kansas City ( UMKC ).
Chapter meetings are held On-line in a chatroom on Wednesdays at 7 PM.
aol://2719:67-2-MOMARS Click Here for The Chat Room in Special Interests- MOMARS
The Priority List of Objectives.
When this site was created a priority list of objectives was established and posted. Additional comments follow up each list point.
#1 The first priority that group members identified was to define the Who What When and Where of the Mars Society. Who’s going to be involved and what are we going to do? When is our objective set to go to Mars and where are we going to land?
The question of who is going to be involved has been more or less been answered. To be involved in a Space interest group you must be patient and be prepared for a very long journey of discovery. The question of when has more or less been answered also, it will not be in 5 years from 1998 the founding year of the Mars Society. It is going to be a very long time. There is much to do and much to learn. It took 21 years to get the International Space Station in orbit and it is still under construction. The Space Shuttle began development in the mid 1970s and is still in use today, waiting on a replacement. Astronauts have last walked on the Moon in 1972 and have not been back since. The estimated time for arrival on Mars by people from Earth is at least 25 to 50 years. We have a long way to go. This going to be done in stages not all at once.
#2 Why does the Mars Society want to go to Mars? A rational reason as compelling as going to Mars is extravagant, must be given to justify a manned mission to Mars. Just because it is there is not good enough. There must be a very compelling reason to go to Mars. Expanding the economy is really not good enough, establishing new territory is really not good enough. About the only rational reason to go to Mars, is to establish a multi-planet civilization. This would ensure the survival of the Human Species, that would justify going to Mars. The reason this chapter has been formed is to play a role in producing a multi-planet Human civilization. This is our Mission Statement.
The rational reason that has survived the last four years now is still the same. The reason why we are promoting a mission to Mars is to establish a Multi-Planet civilization.
#3 In establishing a goal so grand scale it is required to educate others as to why we need to go to Mars and the benefits of doing so. Becoming a platform for Educational speakers is an imperative to the success of the Mars Society. We should teach others about the Mars environment and the reasons why we need to go to Mars.
*Yes this is still true, however many people know quite a bit about Mars and because they know about the Mars environment they would not want to go there. It is so cold on Mars that atmospheric gases freeze out on the surface. This is a very compelling reason not to go.What the Mars Society needs is a ultilitarian reason for members to be involved. The Elks Club has thier meeting hall and the Rotory Club has a summer camp. The Mars Society and all Space interest groups need to establish a utilitarian benefit for being involved in the organization. Space Camp weekends?
#4 Fund raising for the chapter should not just be yearly dues. There should be fun in fund raising, with games and non-monetary prizes. This should be integrated into the meetings as a function.
* Most Space interest with substancial funding tends to be grant funded. However, as Space interest is entering the general public interest forum, grant funding is not available for as many and as diverse of enthusiasts as there are. It will become more recreational to attract more people. Space interest will become something a little different than it is today in just a few short years.
* The chapter fund raiser at this time to generate revenue for the chapter is sales of Prepaid Cell Phone Advantages.
Click on the link below to see what Prepaid Cell Phone Advantages can do for you.
The KCMO Chapter of The Mars Society as are many MS chapters, is not part of the Nonprofit corporation of the Mars Society national organization. The KCMO Mars Society Chapter must generate revenue through a conventional business. It does not receive nonprofit tax deductable donations. A 501 (c)(3) Organization is formed for educational, scientific, literary, charitable, or religious pursuits.
According to the Nonprofit kit I have, there are 6 general charateristics of a 501 (c)(3) corporation.
* * 1. Private ( separate from the government ), privately funded through tax deductable donations.
* 2. Organizations ( privately incorporated )
* 3. Self-governing ( controlling their own activities )
* 4. Voluntary ( overseen - at least in part - by volunteers and benefiting
from the work and contributions of volunteers)
*5. Not distributing profits to their owners (nonprofits have no owners, but are overseen by volunteer board members)
*6. For public benefit (serving a public purpose and contributing to the public good )
The Mars Society meets all of these characteristics, there are private donations and also government grants. ** As near as I can determine there are no Nonprofit Space interest groups that are listed with Philanthropic Associations, these organizations line up potential donors with nonprofits. If you are not listed philantropists very likely will not donate because you can't develop a recorded track record that is independently verified. This removes any reason for a chapter to be part of the Mars Society national nonprofit corporation or any unlisted Nonprofit Space interest group. No significant donations can be obtained. This effectively removes any utilitarian reason to be a part of the nonprofit Space interest organization. There is simply no point in it, however there is nothing bad about it either.
As for the Kansas City MO Mars Society, due to the lack of revenue it can not define itself as any kind of business. The financial situation defines itself, it is an out of pocket expendature club without a business structure. I think a great many Space interest group chapters fall into this catigory.
#5 The chapter should encourage the development of new technologies that will advance the possibility of going to Mars. Under the condition that the inventors of these technologies maintain intellectual rights to their inventions. Inventors should not give away the store, never let the competition know what you are thinking.
* It has been said with justification by a thoughtful national Space interest leader, that it is not really all that great of an idea for a person to share inventive concepts with a group. It usually happens that someone in that group will say the idea is a good one and they are going to us it for themselves. We are not here to do that. We discourage the sharing of inventive ideas, but if you do develop some new technology we will present you with an award certificate recognizing you for your achievement.
If you are looking for a way to explore Mars now, about the only way to do this is with virtual reality in the form of map making programs. The US Geological Survey offers a Mars Map Maker program that you can use to explore Mars. Try it out.
Click on the URL link here. Mars Mapmaker
If you would like to join The Kansas City MO Mars Society Chapter, send me an e-mail. deltavnet@aol.com
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