"The Mars Pathfinder is one of a number of new missions to Mars that will pave the way for human exploration early in the next century," said David Brandt, NSS Executive Director. "The NSS advocates eventual human settlement of Mars, so it makes perfect sense for us to be a clearinghouse for Mars activities around the country."

Mars activities include (details available at http://www.nss.org/mars):

Thursday, July 3, 7:00 pm EDT:
Mars author Kim Stanley Robinson is the guest of the NSS on America Online to discuss how Mars fiction might become fact. On AOL, use keyword: space.

Friday, July 4, beginning at 8:30 pm EDT:
The NSS joins Planet Hollywood patrons at 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, DC, to watch images from Mars on the restaurant's 15 large screens.

Monday, July 7, 7:00 pm EDT:
Mars Exploration Program Manager Donna Shirley, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is the guest of the NSS on America Online to discuss the images received so far and what it is like to manage such an important program. On AOL, use keyword: space.

Ongoing:
"Mars Madness" website at http://www.nss.org/mars. Mars Party Planning Tips, a Mars Events Calendar, Resource Center and Images Center. Calendar listings include: Planetary Society's PlanetFest in Pasadena from July 4 - 6; July 4th Mars activities at the South Florida Science Museum with the National Space Society of the Palm Beaches; July 4th family activities at the Goddard Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; live Pathfinder viewing at the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio; lectures provided by Chicago-area NSS chapters, computer link-ups and rover demos at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

The National Space Society is an independent, nonprofit space advocacy organization with headquarters in Washington, DC. Its 25,000 members and 95 chapters around the world actively promote a spacefaring civilization. For more information on the NSS and our future in space, visit http://www.nss.org/.