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After reading "Mars on Earth" I noticed one thing that bothered me a lot.
With only a few of these Stations scattered about the globe, only top-notch scientists are allowed as crew members. They do a great job at working out the problems of a Mars mission and all but they miss out in the outreach area.
What we need is a bunch of regional and even local MARS stations to compliment the original ones. These don't have to be as expensive as the others. They can be made of simple wood frame construction. Heck we can even use sheetrock if we have to. The point would be to get a bunch of amatuers walking around in spacesuits -- as many as possible.
Local hardware stores and construction companies could sponsor the stations. They could be located just out of sight of the nearest town. The terrain wouldn't have to be perfectly Mars-like. As long as it didn't have a lot of trees, it would be OK.
These stations could be a great help with fundraising as they would be a constant visual reminder. Parents of kids staying at the stations would surely donate a little money everytime their kid stayed there. They would most definitely join the Mars Society, too. If the stations were built to be mobile, they could tour their regional school districts in the winter and then be placed at a field location during the summer. This would boost donations and involvement even more.
These things could proliferate like bunnies.
What do you think?
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Actually, part of the mission for MDRS is to allow involvement by kids. In fact, there have been 2 missions with high school youths as crewmembers. There are plans for more youth involvement, but you will allways see the Arctic station dominated by adults.
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