Journey to Mars via Planetfest '21

THE DISTANCE... between The Planetary Society's headquarters in Pasadena, California and Mars? Given that Mars is many (many many) millions of miles from our own terrestrial home base, and Pasadena is famously a city of Earth, you can confidently say that the stretch to travel would be a long, long, long one to cover. But cover it, The Planetary Society certainly can, and will, over two Mars-velous days. Those ready-to-rocket dates? If you're sweet on the Red Planet, then circle Valentine's Weekend, for Planetfest '21 is set to deploy its landing gear and visit your screen for a host of cool panels and talks.

THOSE EVENTS... will touch upon a caboodle of cosmic topics, including "International Missions to Explore the Red Planet," the amazing cameras taking all of those incredible snapshots of the planet's surface, and the science instruments used to dig deeper, sometimes literally, into the mysteries of Mars. And this is a must for Mars mavens: Bethany Ehlmann, President of the Planetary Society, will join Bill Nye, The Planetary Society's CEO, for "Mars Mind Meld: Everything You Wanted to Know About Mars" on day #1 of the idea-rich weekend. A weekend, by the by, that comes just a few days ahead of NASA's Perseverance alighting on Mars.

TICKETS... range from $30-$70, and you can start your registration process by landing your own craft on this page. Ready to travel again? Go to Mars, or at least to a science-fab festivity that's all about Mars, by joining Planetfest '21 from home over a weekend known for its red decorations. Which leads us to this question: Why shouldn't we spend some time focused on the Red Planet while celebrating Valentine's? If you're mad for Mars, make knowing more about the faraway wonder a major part of your holiday plans.

MARS MERCH: There are Planetfest '21 goodies for purchase, too, should you need a sweet sticker to place on your the bumper of your Solar System-roving craft.