NEW DATE: On to Mars: Are We Ready?
NEW DATE: July 14, 2026
We invite you to join the Beyond Earth Working Group Report Webinar Series to spotlight and unpack the 2025-2026 Working Group papers. Each session will feature the experts behind this work and offer a focused deep dive into the ideas shaping the future of space development.
On to Mars: Are We Ready?
Humanity's ambitions for Mars settlement have never been greater, but are we ready?
Drawing on the Beyond Earth Report: On To Mars Readiness Assessment, Donna Roberts leads a conversation analyzing technological, logistical, and policy challenges to long-term multi-planetary human settlement. Dr. Jay Buckey provides perspective on human health in deep space, and Barbara Belvisi, whose work on closed-loop life support and space habitat technology puts her at the frontier of making off-Earth living practically viable. Kelly Weinersmith, bestselling co-author of A City on Mars, joins the discussion, examining the underestimated challenges and unresolved questions that complicate the optimistic timelines often dominating the conversation.
Speakers
Donna Roberts, Chief Scientist and Senior Partner for American DeepTech
Kelly Weinersmith, Author of City on Mars
Dr. Jay Buckey, Professor of Medicine at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Barbara Belvisi, Founder & CEO, Interstellar Labs
Michael Gold, President, Redwire Space
John Karas, Retired Lockheed Martin Executive
About the Working Group & Reports
The Beyond Earth Institute Leadership Council convenes industry leaders, policy experts, innovators, and researchers to tackle critical questions shaping the future of space development.
The 2025-2026 papers cover commercial LEO development, cislunar markets and infrastructure, Mars readiness, and scalable off-world governance, including:
• Blueprints for Off-World Living: Scaling Human Settlements in Space
• Securing a Cislunar Future: Markets, Minerals, and Momentum
• The Future of Commercial Space Stations: Key Issues in Commercial LEO Development and Policy Recommendations
• On To Mars: A Readiness Assessment for Mars Exploration and Settlement
Download your copy of the reports here.