Mars, the iconic town in Butler County, is having a celebration. It’s the town’s New Year, after all.

Both the town and the Red Planet have a special place in our hearts, and especially for students in the region who wonder about the future of planet Earth and whether humankind will visit the Red Planet within their lifetime.

Dreaming big is certainly something with which folks in the town of Mars are familiar.

Borough officials are always on the lookout for ways to promote the community, and in the past dozen years they have focused on playing up the shared name with the mostly unexplored planet.

That includes Mars New Year, conducted every two years, which coincides with the planet Mars’ new year every 18 months. (The planet rotates around the sun six months slower than Earth.) The event was first conducted in 2015. This year’s event is Aug. 27 and 28.

The Eagle plans to run a special events section about the celebration on Wednesday.

NASA representatives attended the first iteration of Mars New Year in 2015, a treat for many in attendance. From that, a bond and partnership formed between borough and NASA officials. Subsequent celebrations have seen more and more involvement from the agency.

The event always stirs the imaginations and enthusiasms of students.

On Thursday, the Eagle featured a story about Tom Murrin, owner of a local company that runs classes and workshops to teach children how to fly, repair and operate drones. He and his team will host a “Drone Zone” at the upcoming Mars New Year at the end of the month.

Murrin and his team bring equipment to classrooms and local events to give youths and adults a chance to learn to fly, traveling all over Western Pennsylvania.

Murrin’s goal with many of his programs is to get children interested in drones, and in all of the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, components that connect to them. He has conducted educational events for STEM students with upward of 30 or 40 participants.

We think Murrin wants students to know how to fly. Perhaps some of them will be the ones to make that first interplanetary mission to the Red Planet.

We hope and dream so.

— AA