The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Guru Sharma has been selected as the First Place winner of the 2026 Mars Society Poster Contest!

A cybersecurity analyst by profession in Ireland, Guru has nurtured a lifelong passion for astronomy and space exploration. That enthusiasm shines through in his outstanding winning poster, which impressed our judges with its creativity, artistic quality, and compelling vision of humanity’s future on Mars.

The annual Mars Society Poster Contest celebrates artists and designers who help inspire public interest in the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet. Guru’s exceptional design will be featured in promotional materials for the 2026 International Mars Society Convention, taking place October 22–24 at USC in Los Angeles.

We also want to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who submitted a poster design this year. The quality, creativity, and imagination displayed by all of the entrants made the judging process exceptionally difficult, and we truly appreciate the time and effort each participant devoted to helping promote the vision of a human future on the Red Planet.

Congratulations again to Guru Sharma on this well-deserved achievement, and thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s competition.