A rich past and a possible future were both highlighted by recent events in Butler County.

Last week, German Counsel General David Gill visited Saxonburg, a town founded nearly 200 years ago by Gill’s countrymen.

Gill spent the night in the historic Saxonburg Hotel. The next day he was taken by town officials to the Saxonburg Museum in Roebling Park, where he heard the story of John Augustus Roebling’s voyage to America and his founding of Saxonburg.

Roebling also was the creator of wire rope that changed bridge-building forever. Gill said he was impressed by how well Roebling’s and the entire town’s history has been preserved into the 21st century.

While Saxonburg was enjoying its illustrious past, the borough of Mars is looking to its future.

John Donehoo, 55, current chairman of the Mars New Year Festival, is being given the opportunity to participate in NASA’s simulated mission to Mars’ moon Phobos. As a participant in Campaign 6 of the Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Donehoo and other “crew members” from across the country will live and work like astronauts for 45 days in isolation.

NASA will study how crew members adjust to isolation, confinement and remote conditions.

Donehoo, who applied for the position nearly a year ago, will enter a space of less than 600 square feet with his comrades Aug. 28 and remain there until the project’s end on Oct. 10.

Donehoo’s participation as both a Mars flight test subject and chairman of the Mars New Year Festival illustrates the ties between Mars, Pa., and Mars-focused NASA.

In 2014, after a traditional New Year’s Eve celebration fizzled out due to inclement weather, Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung wondered if the Red Planet’s New Year might fall at a time of year more conducive to outdoor festivities. When research proved inconclusive, he contacted NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California to ask.

It turns out Mars circles the Sun every 687 days. So a June 19, 2015, party was planned. Mars residents celebrated again in 2017 and 2019.

These successful events are much more than just a midnight champagne toast. Mars New Year events are three-day, summertime bashes focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. NASA officials, including Chief Scientist Dr. James Green, have attended with interactive exhibits aimed at encouraging kids to pursue careers in STEAM fields. Those students could one day help further the agency’s Mars research.

— EFK