Aspiring Martians

Most people imagine a straight line into the space industry.
Mason Robbins’ story is anything but.
After beginning his career in international relations and conflict studies, Mason worked with organizations including the United Nations, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and innovation hubs across Europe before eventually finding his way back to his childhood passion for space exploration.
Today, he serves as CEO of Star Helix, contributes to advanced spacesuit development programs, conducts human factors research, supports astronaut training initiatives, and has participated in analog astronaut missions across the globe.
In this conversation, Mason shares how curiosity led him from Oklahoma to the Arctic, Hawaii, Scotland, and beyond. We discuss the realities of life inside analog astronaut habitats, what hundreds of hours inside pressurized spacesuits have taught him about human performance, and why the future of Mars exploration depends on understanding people just as much as technology.
We also explore international cooperation in space, mental health in isolated environments, leadership under pressure, the importance of diverse backgrounds in future space crews, and why becoming an aspiring Martian isn’t limited to the people who actually travel to Mars.
Whether you’re interested in astronaut training, human factors engineering, analog missions, or simply hearing an inspiring story about following your curiosity wherever it leads, this episode offers a fascinating look at the human side of humanity’s future beyond Earth.
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A huge thank you to Mason for joining me today and sharing his time and perspective, to Nick Thorburn for the stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the incredible graphics, to Jero Squartini for the amazing animations, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the Facebook group, and to my family for supporting this project.

What does it take to pursue a dream that feels bigger than the world around you?
This week, Joe sits down with Hajar Azizi, a 20-year-old engineering student at École Centrale Casablanca and an active member of the Moroccan Association for Space Studies (MASS), to explore how curiosity, determination, and community can help turn seemingly impossible ambitions into tangible steps forward.
Hajar is part of a new generation of young Moroccans helping to build excitement around science, engineering, and space exploration. Most recently, she helped teach at AstroKids Space Camp, an initiative created by MASS to introduce children to astronomy, robotics, engineering, and the possibilities of a future among the stars. Through hands-on activities, teamwork challenges, and space-themed projects, the camp gave students a chance to see themselves not just as observers of science, but as future scientists, engineers, and explorers.
In this conversation, we talk about growing up in Morocco with big dreams of space, how curiosity can become a powerful driving force, the challenges and rewards of studying engineering, and why pursuing difficult goals often requires embracing uncertainty and failure along the way. Hajar shares her perspective on Morocco’s growing space community, the importance of creating opportunities for young people, and how organizations like MASS are helping build a culture of exploration and innovation throughout the country.
At its heart, this episode is about possibility. It’s about what can happen when someone refuses to let geography, age, or circumstance determine the size of their dreams. And it’s a reminder that the future of Mars won’t be built by a handful of people in a few countries...it will be built by passionate individuals all over the world who decide that humanity’s next great chapter is one worth helping write.
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A huge thank you to Hajar for joining me today and sharing her time and perspective, to Nick Thorburn for the stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the incredible graphics, to Jero Squartini for the amazing animations, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the Facebook group, and to my family for supporting this project.

What does it take to build a space community where one barely exists?
This week, I sit down with Ismail El Omari, a Moroccan space architect, analog astronaut, educator, and founder of the Moroccan Association for Space Studies (MASS).
From his childhood fascination with space to participating in analog astronaut missions and becoming one of Morocco’s leading space advocates, Ismail shares how he’s helping inspire a new generation of explorers across Morocco and Africa.
We discuss Morocco’s surprising history with space exploration, the country’s growing role in astronomy and satellite technology, the importance of space architecture, and why Ismail believes space exploration has the power to unite humanity in ways few other pursuits can.
We also dive into AstroKids Space Camp, what may be Morocco’s first dedicated space camp for children, where young students built rovers, learned about rockets and planets, worked together to solve challenges, and discovered that they too can be part of humanity’s future among the stars.
Whether you’re interested in architecture, education, analog missions, or inspiring the next generation of explorers, this is a conversation about how big dreams can grow into movements.
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A huge thank you to Ismail for joining me today and sharing his time, perspective, and passion for growing the space community in Morocco, to Nick Thorburn for the stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the incredible graphics, to Jero Squartini for the amazing animations, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the Facebook group, and to my family for supporting this project

For this month’s Inside the Habitat, we’re heading to the slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawaii to explore one of the most iconic analog habitats on Earth: HI-SEAS.
For more than a decade, HI-SEAS has helped researchers study what it takes to keep future astronauts healthy, productive, and sane during long-duration missions to Mars. Crews have spent months, and even an entire year, living in isolation inside a dome surrounded by a landscape so Mars-like that it has become one of the world’s premier testbeds for human space exploration.
Joining me is Dr. Kimberly Binsted, the principal investigator behind HI-SEAS. With a background spanning artificial intelligence, planetary science, human-computer interaction, and analog astronaut research, Kim has helped shape some of the most important studies ever conducted on life in isolated space habitats.
In this conversation, Kim shares how HI-SEAS grew from an ambitious idea into one of the world’s premier Mars analog programs, why Hawaii’s volcanic landscape is such a powerful stand-in for another planet, and what researchers have learned from more than a decade of simulated missions. We talk about the realities of living in isolation for months at a time, the surprising ways crews adapt to communication delays and confinement, and why some of the biggest lessons have come from everyday challenges rather than dramatic emergencies. Kim also reflects on the psychology of exploration, the importance of understanding human behavior before we send people to Mars, and how future upgrades to HI-SEAS will help prepare the next generation of explorers for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
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A huge thank you to Kim for joining me today and sharing her time and perspective, to Nick Thorburn for the stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the incredible graphics, to Jero Squartini for the amazing animations, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the Facebook group, and to my family for supporting this project.

This month’s special Everyday Mars episode heads into the alternate-history universe of For All Mankind with former NASA astronaut, SpaceX engineer, and series technical advisor Garrett Reisman.
If you somehow haven’t started the show yet… first of all, what are you doing? And second: fair warning, this conversation contains spoilers for Seasons 1 through 4. At this point though, you’ve had years to catch up, so that one’s on you.
We talked about how For All Mankind evolved from an alternate Apollo timeline into a story about a thriving Martian civilization, what the show gets surprisingly right about human spaceflight, how astronauts actually think about risk and isolation, why Mars settlement may end up looking less glamorous and more industrial than people imagine, how lunar missions set the stage for Mars, the psychological realities of becoming “Martian,” what Garrett learned from his own missions aboard the International Space Station, how his time at NASA and SpaceX shaped his view of humanity’s future in space, and why the hardest part of becoming multiplanetary may ultimately be learning how to live together.
We also discussed the real engineering challenges behind building cities on another world, how television can influence public enthusiasm for exploration, what happens when commercial industry collides with government space programs, the future of Artemis, whether Mars settlements may eventually develop their own culture and identity, and how close some of the technologies in the show actually are to becoming reality.
And for those already mourning the end of Season 5… the finale airs this Friday, and yes, one final season is still coming. But if you need even more For All Mankind immediately afterward, Apple TV is also launching the new spin-off series Star City this Friday, exploring the Soviet side of the alternate-history space race.
Links:
Garrett Reisman - https://www.garrettreisman.com/
Astronauts for America - https://www.astronautsforamerica.org/
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A huge thank you to Garrett for joining me today and sharing his time and perspective. And a special shoutout to Casey Johnson Tully at Ferencomm for coordinating everything behind the scenes to make this conversation happen. Also, quick reminder—this Friday is the Season 5 finale of For All Mankind, and the season premiere of Star City drops the same day with two episodes, followed by a new episode every Friday through July 10—so plenty to look forward to if you’re craving more space stories.
And of course, thank you to Nick Thorburn for the stellar theme music, Ceci Giglio for the incredible graphics, to Jero Squartini for the amazing animations, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the Facebook group, and to my family for supporting this project—even when the space race becomes a regular topic at the dinner table.