The Mars Society was founded in 1998 at the Mars Society Founding Convention in Boulder, Colorado. The four day event boasted over a hundred different speakers and over two hundred papers were submitted. At the convention, the Mars Society Founding Declaration was read and approved by all attendees, and the Mars Society was formed.

A report from a symposium on June 2nd 2001 organized by the Dutch chapter of the Mars Society, featuring Robert Zubrin, Chris McKay and others.

International Conference for the Exploration and Colonization of Mars