PLATINUM2025

Mars Society Inc

Humans to Mars in a Decade

aka THE MARS SOCIETY   |   Golden, CO   |  http://WWW.MARSSOCIETY.ORG

Mission

The Mars Society is the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy organization dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the planet Mars. Established by Dr. Robert Zubrin and others in 1998, the group works to educate the public, the media and the government on the benefits of exploring Mars and creating a permanent human presence on the Red Planet. Our Founding Declaration describes our goals and our creed.

Ruling year info

1998

Founder & President

Robert Zubrin

Main address

834 Braun Ct

Golden, CO 80401-4109 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

31-1585646

NTEE code info

Physical Sciences/Earth Sciences Research and Promotion (U30)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2024, 2023 and 2022.
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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

We seek the permanent human settlement of Mars within the next decade. By utilizing the Mars Direct plan (or a similar one), a human mission could be accomplished cost effectively by taking a “living-off-the-land” approach. A large cargo mission could be sent prior to the first human crew, to establish a propellant factory to create fuel from the existing surface water ice and atmospheric resources of Mars. This approach is one that has been adopted by NASA and SpaceX as the primary method for beginning the human exploration and settlement of the red planet.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Mars Technology Institute

The Mars Technology Institute (MTI) seeks to help foster the startup of new companies that can help settle mars while also generating revenue on Earth with dual-use technologies, products and services.

Population(s) Served

The University Rover Challenge (URC) is the world's premier robotics competition for college students. Held annually in the desert of southern Utah in the United States, URC challenges student teams to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside astronauts exploring the Red Planet. URC was launched in 2006, with competitions being held every summer since 2007. URC consistently draws an international field of the most talented and promising students around. If you're a college student interested in robotics and Mars exploration, the only question left is... Are you up for the Challenge?!

Population(s) Served

CREWS OF MARS ENTHUSIASTS, STUDENTS, SCIENTISTS AND VOLUNTEERS SPENT 2 OR 3 WEEK ROTATIONS LIVING, WORKING AND CONDUCTING EXPIRIMENTS AT THE HABITAT DESIGNED TO SIMULATE THE CHALLENGES OF HUMANS LIVING ON MARS

Population(s) Served

Where we work

  • Canada

  • United States

  • Utah (United States)

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of conference attendees

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

These are registration for our annual conference. The exact reach was much larger for all three years given that our webcast was streamed live and picked up by multiple media outlets.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The purpose of the Mars Society is to encourage the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet. In order to accomplish this, the organization will actively seek to:

1. Organize public outreach with the aim of fostering a deep interest in Mars,
2. Promote broad international support for government-funded Mars research and exploration, and
3. Advocate the establishment of commercial space ventures that will help achieve Mars exploration and settlement.

We will accomplish this through:
Public outreach fostering Mars pioneers
Worldwide support for government-funded Mars research and exploration
Private-enterprise Mars exploration and settlement
Starting small, with hitchhiker payloads on government-funded missions, we intend to use the credibility
such activities engenders to mobilize larger resources, further enabling private robotic missions and
ultimately human exploration and settlement of Mars.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback

Financials

Mars Society Inc
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Mars Society Inc

Board of directors
as of 7/18/2025
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Anthony Muscatello

No Affiliation

James Heiser

No Affiliation

Tony Muscatello DIRECTOR

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? yes

Organizational demographics

info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability