In the end of May/2018 We interviewed Roberto Adolfo Ubidia Incio requesting some guidelines useful to the operation of Mars Society Brazil. Roberto Incio is the executive director of the Mars Society Peru, having organized some research missions to Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, United States. Following some of his answers.
1 - How we will do to create a local committee? How will be this step.
There is a Google Form that you need to fill, there you can include the people that will be the directive, you can add there the Director and the different officers. Also there is a constitution model in TMS website. I'm sending a copy of it.
First you talk wth the people who want to form this chaper, you can copy the questions in the questionarry (attached file) and discuss them with your team.
Then you fill the Google Form and wait for a response from Lucinda Offer (TMS Executive Director)
They will talk with you about the dates for the innauguration of the chapter and later they will give you access to a website and institutional emails for your directive.
2 - How and what kind of strategy would We develop to invite students?
We have been working through the analog missions, but outreach is the best way to involve them. Also we are working on a Latin Americam chapter, so we will held event to include all the chapters in Latin America.
3 - What are typical activities of a local chapter?
Outreach: Events where people can learn from experts, or giving small workshops at schools and universities.
Contests: If funding is available you can organize local contests (or contest involving many chapters in latin america) for teams to create cansats, rovers, etc.
4 - What are typical activities of members chapter?
In TMS-Peru we have active and pasive members, the first are the ones that help activelly in all the activities, being preparing talks or workshops, or helping in the crew support team. The other group helps remotelly with graphic and web design or depending on their possibilities.
5 - We consider some positions in the Brazilian chapter: social media officer, the conferencist, the project manager (of filiates, contact with them, invitations to meeting and events). What are typical positions in The Mars Society Chapters?
I think there are not typical positions. In Peru we redefine them depending on what we need. You need a Director and some officers in charge of outreach, finances, logistics, etc.
6 - We would create and sell t’shirts to fund our activities?
You can do that. In Peru we work with the collaboration of the members and the institutions we work with as the Space Agency and the US Embassy.
7 - There is a kind of commitment letter to assigned by all new member?
That is up to you. Usually it depends on the regulations in your country. We registered The Mars Society Peru as an association, and we have to register all the new members in a "members book"
8 - It is necessary to do annual payments to the Mars Society?
We don't pay anything to them as a chapter. But there is a payment for individuals who want to have a direct membresy with TMS-US
9 - What are the benefits of being a part or affiliated?
International recognizement, this is good when you need help from the embassy, the national space agency, and govenrment institutions who can collaborate with the chapter.
Community building: We can communicate among chapters, and as I mentioned before, we will create a Latin American chapter that will serve as a joint for all the national chapters in the region.
Access to martian Analogs through the Regional Coordinator: When applying for a crew at MDRS, it helps a lot if the regional coordinator is aware and involved as he will be the person who will be asked for references by the Director of MDRS.
