James Burk, Executive Director of the Mars Society

<p>🎙 Ashton Zeth sits down with James Burk, Executive Director of the Mars Society, to share updates on the newest analog station <strong>HOPE in Ladakh, India</strong> (with ISRO as partners), record participation at <strong>MDRS</strong>, plans for the upcoming <strong>2025 Mars Society Convention</strong> at USC, the launch of the new <strong>Mars Society Research Journal</strong>, and exciting developments from the <strong>Mars Technology Institute</strong>.</p><p>🌍 Highlights:</p><ul><li><p>Massive participation at <strong>MDRS</strong> this season</p></li><li><p>Launch of the <strong>HOPE Analog in Ladakh</strong></p></li><li><p><strong>Mars Society Convention 2025</strong> — October 9–11 at USC (don’t miss Rob Manning at the Friday Night Banquet!)</p></li><li><p>Updates from the <strong>Mars Technology Institute</strong> and new collaborations like Purdue University</p></li><li><p>Discussing what&#39;s next in Mars exploration</p></li></ul><p>📅 Preliminary Convention Schedule (subject to change): <a href="https://www.marssociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-Mars-Society-Convention-Schedule.pdf" target="_new" rel="noopener">View Here</a></p><p><br></p><p>---Links --</p><p>Journal of Space Analog Research</p><p><a href="https://jsar.space">https://jsar.space</a></p><p>HOPE analog Announcement:</p><p><a href="https://www.marssociety.org/news/2025/09/16/indias-first-crewed-mars-analog-launches-with-protoplanet-isro-the-mars-society/">https://www.marssociety.org/news/2025/09/16/indias-first-crewed-mars-analog-launches-with-protoplanet-isro-the-mars-society/</a></p><p>The Mars Society Convention 2025</p><p><a href="https://www.marssocietyconference.org">https://www.marssocietyconference.org</a></p><p>Sponsor the upcoming convention in October: <a href="https://www.marssocietyconference.org/sponsors">https://www.marssocietyconference.org/sponsors</a></p><p>Four Sponsorship Levels:</p><ul><li>Gold</li><li>Silver </li><li>Bronze</li><li>Logo Only!</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Flashline Analog in the Arctic</p><p><a href="https://fmars.marssociety.org/">https://fmars.marssociety.org/</a></p>