On this episode of Mars Ascend is 15 year old future astronaut Alyssa Carson. Alyssa knows what it takes to make dreams come true. She's already completed 7 international Space Camps and numerous astronaut Sally Ride Camps. She's witnessed three shuttle launches, attended Space Academy's, Robotics Academy and an Aviation Challenge. She travels to many parts of the world as an inspirational speaker including TEDx in Greece motivating others to follow their dreams.  Alyssa also speaks four languages and will soon begin work on her pilots license.

On this episode of Mars Ascend is Producer Richard Barton Lewis. Richard has been an A list Producer for many successful years spanning a career which has generated over 1.2 billion dollars in related revenue. His Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning works include 17 major motion pictures and numerous prime time television series. He currently has over a dozen motion picture, television and stage projects in active development. We discuss Richards latest movie 'The Space Between Us', a fictional drama about a boy who is born and raised on Mars.

On this episode of Mars Ascend is Paul Levinson, co-creator with Michael Waltemathe  of the new book 'Touching the Face of the Cosmos-On the Intersection of Space Travel and Religion'. We discuss the book and the role religion and spirituality play in humans desire to explore space, including Mars.

On this Part 2 episode of Mars Ascend we continue our conversation with the Director of the Office of Space and Advanced Technology for the U.S. Department of State, Kenneth D. Hodgkins. We discuss the role Ken's office and the State Department play in formulating international space policy and promoting cooperation in space.

On this Part 1 episode of Mars Ascend is the Director of the Office of Space and Advanced Technology for the U.S. Department of State, Kenneth D. Hodgkins. We discuss the role Ken's office and the State Department play in formulating international space policy and promoting cooperation in space.

On this episode of Mars Ascend is Air and Space Law Instructor Andrea Harrington of the University of Mississippi School of Law.  Andrea is also a lawyer and instructor at the International Space University and the Executive Editor of the Journal of Space Law. She is a doctoral candidate in the field of Air and Space Law. In this Part 2 of a 2 Part series we discuss the national U. S . Space Act signed into law in 2015 and it's relationship to the international Outer Space Treaty. The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space or COPUOS oversees the Outer Space Treaty.

On this episode of Mars Ascend is Air and Space Law Instructor Andrea Harrington of the University of Mississippi School of Law. We discuss the evolving field of space law and introduce some of it's core principals including application to human missions to Mars. Andrea is also a lawyer and instructor at the International Space University and the Executive Editor of the Journal of Space Law. She is a Doctoral candidate in the field of Air and Space Law. In this Part 1 of a 2 Part series we touch upon important space law legislation derived from the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space or COPUOS.

On this episode of Mars Ascend is Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning producer and director Justin Wilkes. Justin is Executive Producer of the National Geographic Channel series Mars premiering Monday, November 14th on the National Geographic Channel. He's also President of Media and Entertainment for RadicalMedia which partnered with Imagine Entertainment to produce the Mars series. We discuss the National Geographic Channel Mars television series, it's production, motivation and hope for the future.

On this episode of Mars Ascend we welcome Marianne Dyson, co-author with astronaut Buzz Aldrin of the recent book 'Welcome to Mars- Making a Home on the Red Planet.' We discuss the book as well as ideas for keeping our youth involved in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. Marianne was one of NASA'S first Flight Controllers, she is a prolific award winning author and passionate space advocate.