Mars embraces connection to red planet, NASA
Few populated places in America wear their name on their sleeve as heavily as Mars Borough.
It’s evident to any out-of-town visitor from the moment they set foot in the borough’s downtown area and notice two things: the famous flying saucer statue — one of the more popular tourist landmarks in the county — and the welcome sign, which, of course, prominently features a spaceship.
While the origins of the nearly 3,000-pound flying saucer statue are murky, the earliest reference to it in the Butler Eagle’s archive comes from 1989. According to an image caption, the statue was originally donated to the Mars Area History & Landmarks Society by Butler Fabricating. It was constructed out of dome-shaped steel tanks from Starlight Refinery in Karns City. The statue took three weeks to originally construct.
Despite Mars’ “out-of-this-world” theme, there is dispute as to whether the name of the borough owes any direct connection to the red planet or draws inspiration from a completely unrelated source.
Although the first settlers arrived in 1798, what is currently known as Mars didn’t get a name until the 1870s, when a post office for the fledgling area was established. According to a section from the “Life on Mars” book released for Mars’ 100th anniversary in 1973, Samuel Parks established a post office for the area in 1873 and gave it the name “Overbrook.”
Four years later, the Pittsburgh, New Castle and Lake Erie Railroad was building tracks through Butler County. It just so happened that there was a separate stop on the line with the name Overbrook in a completely different area. Mail intended for what is now Mars was being delivered to that station instead, leading to mass confusion. It was decided that the borough needed a name change. This is where history offers two conflicting explanations.
“Some attribute the name to Samuel Parks’ wife, who was reportedly an avid student of astronomy and suggested naming the town after the red planet,” said Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung.
The other theory — the one commonly accepted by historians — is that “Mars” is simply a reference to local judge Samuel Marshall, a friend of Parks who helped him establish the original Overbrook post office.
Whatever the true origins of Mars’ name, the borough first gained attention as an honorary space and science hub in September 1989, when an extraordinary event in aerospace history took place on Mars borough soil: a weeklong joint U.S./Soviet educational event centered at the Mars Area School District, dubbed the “Mission to Mars.”
The summit, which took place near the tail-end of the original Cold War, was spearheaded by the Mars Area Foundation For Educational Excellence and its vice chairman, Donald Solino. He and his wife, Bonnie, were encouraged by suggestions from then-President Ronald Reagan that the two countries could conduct a joint mission to the planet Mars one day. The couple orchestrated a letter-writing campaign to the space agencies of both countries encouraging them to conduct a “mission” to Mars, Pa. instead.
Russian cosmonaut Segei Krikalev teamed up with U.S. astronaut-in-training Mario Runco, Jr., who would go on to fly three Space Shuttle missions. For the next week, the two of them would tour the Mars Area School District and talk with students about the future of space exploration. Krikalev would also spend his week sampling American culture — taking in a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game and a Mars Planets high school football game.
“When I talked with folks in town about what they remembered most about the town capitalizing on the name Mars, this story came up in almost every conversation,” Hartung said.
A special “patch” was later commissioned to commemorate the event, depicting an American bald eagle and a Russian bear.
Mars didn’t fully embrace its space theme until the early 2010s, when the borough held the first of its biennial Mars New Year celebrations. Held once every two years to match the solar cycle of the annual red planet, Mars New Year brings together aerospace organizations, educational institutions, and enthusiastic students of science in a celebration of aerospace, science and technology.
The most recent Mars New Year, held June 6 to 7, 2025, brought attractions such as the Robotics Village, which showcased the latest in robotics technology; a space-themed Martian Melodies concert; and a nightly drone show with 200 drones lighting up the sky on both nights.
According to Hartung — who became mayor in 2014 — the idea for Mars New Year came after the Mars Area History & Landmarks Society canceled its New Year’s Eve ceremony for December 2013-January 2014. Before the change, the traditional New Year’s Eve ceremony was held since 1999.
“They asked me in 2014 what might be done in its place,” Hartung said. “I responded wondering if we celebrated the planet Mars New Year in Mars, Pa.”
This led Hartung to call the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. They informed him that the start of the next new year on the planet Mars would take place in June 2015. One thing led to another, and with help from NASA’s Mars Public Engagement Team, the borough put together its first Mars New Year event from June 18 to 20, with appearances from over a dozen NASA personnel.
Plans for the next Mars New Year in 2027 are only getting started, according to Hartung.
“We have just very broad and vague planning so far for next year's event,” Hartung said. “Our next meeting in late July may have an exact date and more of a theme for 2027.”
However, Hartung says he hopes to attract more local businesses involved in the aerospace industry, as well as more educational institutions with active STEAM. (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) programs.
Hartung warns that NASA may play less of a role in next year’s event.
“NASA will be limited in their involvement because of cutbacks in public engagement with the current administration wanting to reduce spending on all fronts,” Hartung said.
