Believing therefore that the exploration and settlement of Mars is one of the greatest human endeavors possible in our time, we have gathered to found this Mars Society, understanding that even the best ideas for human action are never inevitable, but must be planned, advocated, and achieved by hard work.  We call upon all other individuals and organizations of like-minded people to join us in furthering this great enterprise.  No nobler cause has ever been. We shall not rest until it succeeds.

-- excerpts from the Founding Declaration of the Mars Society.

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In Memoriam: Lifetime Member Richard Sylvan
by Tamarack Robert Czarnik

Richard Sylvan, Lifetime Mars Society Member, has died in his Georgia home.

The following is a memorial written by Dr. Tam Czarnik, Mars Society Steering Committee member and a good friend of Dr. Sylvan:

"Dr. Sylvan, an Oncologist by training, was a moving force on multiple fronts in both the Mars Society and the larger space community. Since the Aerospace Medicine community is small, most of us know (or think we know) one another. For myself, I knew Rich as an intelligent and impassioned presenter, tireless in pushing the envelope of making humans to Mars as safe as possible. But I only knew Rich's medical side.

"From the outflow I've read since Dr. Sylvan's death, I learned he was instrumental in the 1st and 2nd Gen II Mars Settlement Workshops; opening his Atlanta home for all participants, he helped develop the first Mars Settlement design, especially the medical facilities. He was a driving force in the Mars Homestead Project, gave presentations to the Space Frontier Foundation, lobbied in Washington (during the Mars Blitzes) and at home in Georgia for easing private access to space. His presentations ranged from Mining of Near Earth Asteroids to Latency in Telerobotic Exploration to extending Medical Care to the Moon and Mars. Those who heard him knew him as passionate, dedicated and outspoken; those who debated him or tried to pass off fuzzy thinking found him unrelenting and exacting.

"In later years he continued to attend and participate in conferences, despite his failing health; I remember him waving off a concerned ambulance crew at one Mars Society Convention, insisting he was okay to continue the conference. Frequently his physical limitations made attending conferences all but impossible; Rich came and presented anyway, his failing health no match for his dream of space for mankind.

"Rich has earned his family's love, our respect, and his place on Mars' Wall of Pioneers. The space community has lost a tireless advocate, an exacting researcher, and a good friend. They say a hard road leads to the stars; Richard Sylvan knew it, dealt with it, and lived it.

Godspeed, Dr. Sylvan."

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