Meet the Crew

Dr Jonathan Clarke

Secretary, Mars Society Australia · Adjunct Professor, Amity University, Mumbai

• Geology
• Astrobiology
• Mars Analogues
• Mars Operations

Jon has forty years of experience in the geosciences and twenty-five with Mars Society Australia, including seven months spent living inside Mars simulation habitats. His field work has taken him across twelve countries, six continents and three oceans. He provides leadership advice, local knowledge and geological expertise for the expedition.

“Twenty-five years ago MSA selected Arkaroola as our prime region for Mars analogue activities in Australia. This expedition is to further MSA activities there to a new generation.”

Dr Steven Hobbs

Mars Society Australia

• Space Systems Engineering
• Remote Sensing
• Field Robotics
• Geomorphology

Steve holds a Master's in Space Systems Engineering and a PhD in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, and is researching Martian geomorphology, Earth-based analogues and surface processes. Much of that work involves running around in remote and exotic locations testing home-brewed sensors and robotics, including in near-space environments, then using whatever survives to inform the next generation of Moon and Mars exploration.

His current space systems engineering research is on hyperspectral sensors for deep space applications, tested so far in remote domestic locations and in the high-altitude environment of Ladakh, India. He recently published Sensing Mars: Remote Sensing to Understand the Red Planet (Springer, 2026).

Dr Annalea Beattie

Director, Mars Society Australia · Adjunct Professor, Centre of Excellence in Astrobiology, Amity University, Mumbai

• Art & Science
• Mars Analogues
• Field Drawing
• Dark Skies

Annalea is an artist living and working in lutruwita Tasmania, and she is interested in our future off-Earth. She is always wondering what role art will have when we leave our homes to live on other celestial bodies. Her practice focuses on how art making on space science expeditions to Mars-like environments here on Earth can contribute to thinking about how we might live together in confined, hostile and isolated circumstances on planets like Mars.

She taught at RMIT University for twenty-five years and currently teaches doctoral research in the School of Art. She is a member of DarkSky International and of the Association of Mars Explorers, and has substantial Mars analogue experience.

Thomas Windsor

Expedition Coordinator · Board Member, Mars Society Australia

• Remote Fieldwork
• Logistics
• Commercial Diving
• Antarctic Expedition

Thomas isn't sure what originally got him interested in planetary exploration, having spent the last several years meandering through odd jobs in interesting places. That at least provided plenty of experience in remote-area fieldwork and logistics, which was recently put to the test on a twelve-month assignment to Antarctica as part of the 77th ANARE. He joined MSA as a board member in late 2022 and has since been on two geological trips to planetary analogue environments in Ladakh, Himalayan India.

He is based in Adelaide, working as a commercial diver. In winter he takes time off to support scientific surveys in the Simpson Desert as an expedition cameleer for the Outback Camel Co., spending many a night in a swag under clear starry skies. Perhaps that is where the planetary exploration bug finally took hold.

Ryan Kupferle

Director & Treasurer, Mars Society Australia

• Space Operations
• Project Management
• Astrophotography

Ryan has more than a decade of experience in project and operations management, holds an MBA and a Graduate Diploma in Management, and is currently studying a Master of Space Operations at UNSW Canberra.

He is joining Planetary Geology Field Week to learn. As he weighs up a possible PhD focused on operations for crewed lunar and Martian missions, the expedition is a chance to get out in the field, be part of the work, and see what questions grab him.

Dr Sandy Dance

Member, Mars Society Australia

• Computer Vision
• IT Research
• Impact Craters

Sandy worked with the Bureau of Meteorology as an IT researcher for twenty-two years before retiring in 2019, and before that carried out research in computer vision at the University of Melbourne. He has been a keen proponent of Mars exploration ever since reading Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars in 1996, and was present at the founding of Mars Society Australia around 2001.

His enthusiasm for this trip was kindled by an earlier Mars Society expedition to Central Australia exploring impact craters. He found it fascinating, and learnt a great deal of geology from the experts who were along.

Ian Furness

Secretary, Astronomical Society of South Australia

• Physics & Astrophysics
• Radiation Protection
• Amateur Astronomy

Ian is retired. His scientific grounding was in physics, including astrophysics, with further study in occupational health and occupational hygiene. He is a retired Fellow of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety and has held leadership roles with the Australasian Radiation Protection Society. As for geology, he notes that his younger son is a geologist, if that counts.

He expresses his enthusiasm for all matters space-related through volunteering as Secretary of the Astronomical Society of South Australia. All space stuff interests him, including the nature of space objects such as the Earth and Mars.

“I'm participating principally as a ‘geotourist’. I'll undoubtedly be out of my depth with much of the geology terminology and scientific techniques, but I hope to conclude the trip with a much better understanding of the geological aspects of this fascinating region of the world. It will be intriguing to find out what our knowledge about Earth can tell us about Mars.”