MARS — NASA was so enamored of the inaugural Mars New Year in June that its scientists and astronomers will return to the one-square-mile borough in 2017 for the second event.

A committee already gas begun planning the next Mars New Year event, which will be in mid-May 2017 because it takes 22 months for the Red Planet to make one full revolution.

Mayor Gregg Hartung came up with the idea to correlate the borough’s celebration with the planet’s new year after the traditional Dec. 31 celebration was ended due to low attendance.

The inaugural Mars New Year was in June, and proved successful due in large part to the participation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which sent several scientists, astronomers and other personnel to the festival.

The weekend event included astronomers speaking about the future of space exploration, a display where participants donned 3-D glasses to view the Red Planet’s terrain, a miniature Mars Rover, a science fiction costume contest and hands-on scientific displays for children.

Food vendors, beer tasting and arts and crafts activities rounded out the event.

“The magic of it has been NASA’s emphasis on traveling to Mars and putting people on the planet,” Hartung said. “Our (borough’s) name being Mars really helps people connect with that.”

Hartung said NASA officials must have been pleased with the Mars New Year because they immediately committed to participate in the next event.

“They all agreed that they’d like to come back if we do it again,” Hartung said.

He said the committee and NASA officials agree the 2017 event should be expanded because it proved so popular.

Hartung said he met a few times with Mars School District Superintendent Wesley Shipley about involving district students and staff at the next Mars New Year.

The mayor said those who enjoyed the 2015 event can expect bigger and better exhibits from NASA in 2017.

“They seemed to want to bring more to this one than the last one,” Hartung said.

One project the committee may pursue is to connect the borough’s history as a train-based town to NASA’s plan to travel to the Red Planet in the 2030s.

“Most people have pride in their communities, but when you have a name like Mars and you can work with NASA, that’s just like, ‘Wow,’” Hartung said.

John Watson, president of the Mars History and Landmark Society, will again be on the Mars New Year committee.

He recalled helping to plan the first New Year’s Eve celebration in 2000 in the downtown with a budget of $800. The budget for the Mars New Year in May was $30,000.

Watson said after involving NASA, the committee benefited greatly from the help of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau. It helped them with planning, publicity and other aspects of the large event.

“We couldn’t have done it without the tourism bureau,” Watson said. “They were totally behind us. We would have stumbled through the whole thing without them.”

Jack Cohen, president of the tourism bureau, said his personnel used their connections with businesses and organizations that could provide tents, technology, and other services for the Mars New Year.

The bureau’s event planners also assisted the committee with organizing the event.

“We tried our best to help and guide them to save them time and money,” Cohen said.

He said the tourism bureau enjoys working with towns in the county.

“They have a willingness to be proud of where they live, and we want to help with that,” Cohen said. “We love that kind of stuff.”

Amy Smith, director of development at MHY Family Services, is another return committee member. She is excited about the upgraded Mars New Year planned.

“I’m hoping we can partner with more local school districts and bring in more student involvement, and expand hands-on technology so it will feel even more like an interactive event,” Smith said.

Looking ahead to 2017, Watson said, “I think it’s going be very unique. People are not going to get tired of it (occurring) every year.”