Preparations begin for 2027 Mars New Year event
CRANBERRY TWP — Eight months after the previous Mars New Year event, the borough has already begun preparations for the next iteration of its centerpiece celebration, to be held during summer 2027.
Mars New Year, held on a biennial basis to match the solar cycle of the planet Mars, is a two-day celebration of science, technology and outer space, featuring numerous space- and science-themed exhibits, and special guests with years of experience in the field. Six Mars New Year events have been held to date.
To promote the event, the borough and the Mars Robotics Association hosted the “Countdown Breakfast” at Regional Learning Alliance in Cranberry Township on Monday morning, Feb. 23. Jeff Beckstead, president of the Mars Robotics Association, described the event as a window into a career in science and technology for interested high school students.
“The breakfast is to get students exposed to current tech people working in space exploration,” Beckstead said.
About 100 high school students attended, with school districts across southwestern Pennsylvania receiving invitations, including Butler and Knoch.
The keynote speaker for the breakfast was Catherine Regan, of West Virginia University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. Regan delivered a presentation on the history of mankind’s relationship with, and exploration of, the planet Mars, culminating in the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin rover, which is planned to launch in 2028.
Regan appeared at the most recent Mars New Year in June, along with a group of her fellow Mountaineers who were there to promote their department’s involvement in NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars.
“I absolutely loved it. I think it’s great that you really lean into the fact that you’re called Mars, and people can say, ‘I visited Mars, I traveled to Mars,’” Regan said. “I think it’s such an amazing event, and we’re really looking forward to coming back next year.”
Just prior to the keynote speech, Beckstead publicly unveiled the “Moon 2 Mars Student Space Hackathon,” an event for STEM-inclined high school students to collaborate with peers from across the country to solve real-world space exploration challenges. The event is open to students from grades eight to 12, and will give them a chance to work with a group of four retired NASA experts, including former South Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon.
“This came about because I was on a webinar,” Beckstead said. “Some people in there said, ‘Wouldn't it be great to just put a bunch of high school students in a room and solve NASA’s problems?’ And so we created this hackathon.”
The Hackathon is scheduled for July 18 and 19.
