The Mars Society and South Seattle College team up on space habitat – GeekWire
The Mars Society plans to build a Pacific Northwest research station ready to simulate a mission to the moon or Mars, in partnership with South Seattle College.
The local nonprofit group announced today that its executive director, James L. Burk, and the college’s president, Monica Brown, have signed a 10-year memorandum of agreement to establish a partnership.
The plan calls for the Mars Society to lease land on the college’s 87-acre campus in West Seattle and build a research station, depending on funding. Both groups will raise funds from aerospace companies and other donors to support construction, with the goal of opening the station by the start of the 2027-2028 academic year.
The agreement provides for the creation of a joint space curriculum and certificate program; a student capstone project and an internship program tied to industry partners; and the district’s workforce pipeline and community engagement effort.
The Seattle facility will be the third analog research station operated by the Mars Society, joining the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Canada’s Devon Island and the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.
Those two stations were built more than two decades ago to demonstrate designs for Mars habitats. They provide opportunities for research teams to test tools and techniques that future astronauts may use for extraterrestrial exploration. During their work, researchers live and work under simulated conditions on Mars. For example, they are required to wear simulated spacesuits every time they go outside their habitat.
Burk said the Seattle research station will reflect NASA’s growing emphasis on lunar exploration as a precursor to manned Mars missions, as well as South Seattle College’s traditional emphasis on manned training. “For more than two decades, the Mars Society has operated analog research stations in the Utah desert and the Canadian Arctic that have shaped the way humanity will live and work in other countries. Bringing that capability to an urban community college is something new, and intentional,” he said.
“The moon and Mars programs that the federal government is committed to now will require a workforce that we haven’t trained in 50 years,” Burk said. “South Seattle College is able to train people in industries that actually build things. That’s exactly what we need to prepare for planetary operations on the moon and Mars.”
Analog research projects will build on the college’s existing training programs. For example, students studying electric vehicle maintenance and repair can work on projects involving battery-powered rovers and drones. Students in the college’s culinary arts program can participate in research on growing vegetables in space.
“South Seattle College has a long tradition of meeting our region’s workforce needs in aerospace, applied science, and skilled trades,” Brown said. “This partnership extends that tradition, and this move demonstrates our commitment to exploring bold, future-focused opportunities that expand access, inspire, and ensure our students are prepared to lead in emerging industries.”
The Mars Society is based in Colorado but has many Pacific Northwest connections. The Seattle chapter was formed in 1998, shortly after the founding of the national organization. Burk, a former project manager for Microsoft, lives and works in North Bend, Wash.
During a 2023 podcast interview, Mars Society President Robert Zubrin — who earned a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Washington — said the Pacific Northwest is “probably at the top of the list” of possible sites for the Mars Technology Institute. Today’s announcement appears to coincide with Zubrin’s regional evaluation.
In its press release, the Mars Society noted that the Pacific Northwest “holds the largest area of commercial space in the United States.” The community specifically cited Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite factory and L3Harris Technologies’ Aerojet Rocketdyne facility in Redmond.
To raise public awareness of the Seattle project, the Mars Society said it plans to install an inflatable replica of the research facility at South Seattle College’s Aviation Maintenance Technology facility this summer. The community also pointed out that there is more to come, saying “there is a community event in the works.”
