ASSOCIATION OF MARS EXPLORERS

PRESS RELEASE

For release: February 4, 2010

Fourth Biennial Dinner for Association of Mars Explorers to be held in Houston, TX

The Association of Mars Explorers is to hold its fourth biennial dinner on Tuesday April 27 2010 to coincide with the 2010 Astrobiology Science (AbSciCon) Conference in Houston, Texas. The time and venue of the dinner will be confirmed in due course.

The evening will pay tribute to the Association’s latest Honorary Life Member, American writer Kim Stanley Robinson, who is best known for his trilogy on the exploration of Mars – Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars. It will also mark the formal handing over of the Presidency of the Association from the writer William Fox to writer and film-maker Sam Burbank.

The award of life membership by the Association of Mars Explorers to Kim Stanley Robinson continues a tradition which started in 2004 with an award to scientist and explorer William Hartmann, author of A Travelers Guide to Mars. This was followed by awards to eminent scientists involved in Mars-related research – Professor Steve Squyres and Dr. Agustin Chicarro in 2006 and Dr Benton C. Clark in 2008. Details of the Association and its biennial dinners can be found at http://marsexplorers.org .

Members wishing to attend the dinner should send an email to William Fox at explore@marsexplorers.org. Further information about the dinner will also be posted on http://marsexplorers.org

The Association of Mars Explorers was founded in 2002 as a forum for expeditioners and explorers interested in exploring the frontiers of Mars, including the deserts, mountains, poles and caves. It also included within its remit those who have explored Mars analog environments, which could include analog environments on the moon. There are currently over eighty members around the world, including scientists, engineers, writers and artists, and a number are at the forefront of current Mars-related research.