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Here is the Mars Society Netherlands' newsletter for March 2020. Last month we organised two succesful events. In the evening of february 26th we held a discussion meeting in the Copernicus Observatory in Overveen. We focussed on the theme of the ethical aspects of the colonization of Mars. It was a nice discussion with dreamers, sceptics, people with a more or less technical approach versus people with a political approach and so on. If one thing became clear it is that all these approaches are valuable and should be part of a greater discussion on the topic of the colinization of the red planet. 
Five days later we had another discussion meeting in The Hague, as described under the header 'Past activity'. . 

Last month we expanded our website with a webshop. It is now possible to order shirts with our logo on them. Check out our webshop here. 

Activities

In last January's newsletter we presented the game Terraforming Mars to you. We now offer you an opportunity to play this game with other people following the Mars Society Netherlands. We are organizing a game night where we will be playing this game. See our website for more information https://marssociety.space/game-night-teraforming-mars/.

Past Activity

On March 2nd the Mars Society Netherlands organized an ethical discussion about the colonization of Mars at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in the Hague.

Sanjay Vijendran of the European Space Agency gave an exciting briefing about the ambitions of the ESA for Mars. In 2026 samples of Mars soil will be brought back to Earth for research. This means that there will launch a rocket from the surface of Mars for the first time. It will be captured by a rocket which will be circling around Mars. In much the same way people will go to Mars and be brought back to Earth. According to planning in the 2030’s. The ESA collaborates closely together with the NASA, other countries and commercial parties on these goals.

After the briefing the audience was asked to think about ethical questions concerning the colonization of Mars. Like how we should arrange governance and land ownership, whether people are responsible for their own health and well-being on Mars and what role commercial parties could play under which conditions. Not surprisingly, the event gave rise to different opinions about which the last word has not yet been said. Stay tuned with us for the follow-up!

Recommended: The Fated Sky

'The Fated Sky' is the second novel in Mary Robinette Kowal's alternate history cycle around the 'Lady Astronaut'. In the first novel, 'The Calculating Stars', an cataclysmic event in the early 1950's kickstarts the space programs of the different nations of the world. This novel ended with the first journey to the moon. 'The Fated Sky' takes up a few years after these events. A base on the moon is established and humanity has now set Mars as their next destination. What follows is the preparations and eventually the journey to the red planet, all set in a faithful description of 1950's society, culture, politics and technology. Difficult topics like everyday misogyny, racism and privilege are not avoided and act as an illuminating mirror to our own time. A captivating story well worth reading!

Further News:

	Calling All Martian Redditors! The Mars Society invites you to join its subreddit page (r/MarsSociety) to learn more about the organization and its efforts to advocate for human Mars exploration, as well as current news about planning for a human mission to the Red Planet. Our direct link is: https://www.reddit.com/r/MarsSociety/new.
	NASA photo reveals mysterious hole in Mars ‘that may contain alien life’ Alien life may be lurking within a mysterious caver under the surface of Mars, scientists claim. An eerie crater on the dusty slopes of Mars’ Pavonis Mons volcano was picked out by two space scientists as a prime spot for extraterrestrials.
	The Curiosity rover found organic molecules on Mars During its time on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover has focused on understanding the planet's potential habitability in its ancient past, drilling into rocks and studying their dust to determine possible conditions for life. The rover has found some intriguing clues, and now, scientists are following up on those puzzle pieces to understand their origin.