The main action is still over on the Martian Soil Twitter account, but I wanted to take advantage of the spacious comforts of a full blog post to highlight some of the other Twitter dedicated to Mars exploration coverage:

Mars Missions

• HiRISE: High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Taking beautiful 25 cm/px pics of Mars 24/7.
• MarsCuriosity: NASA/JPL’s 2011 Mars Science Lab rover mission.
• MarsPhoenix: Now dormant Phoenix Mars Lander mission to the Martian north polar region.
• MarsRovers: Spirit and Opportunity rovers, roaming the Red Planet on six wheels since Jan 2004.
• MAVEN2Mars: The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN), set to launch in 2013.
• MarsMetNet: 2011 MetNet atmospheric science mission to Mars by he Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Mars groups and organizations

• DallasMars: Dallas chapter of the Mars Society.
• ExploreMars: An organization dedicated to seeing humans explore Mars, with educational outreach programs.
• KiwisOnMars: Mars Society New Zealand chapter.
• Mars_500: International Mars 500 experiment, based out of Moscow, simulating 500 days of a trip to Mars in closed quarters.
• MarsDrive: Striving to be the most outreach-oriented space group.
• MarsInstitute: Institute to further the scientific study, exploration and public understanding of Mars.
• MarsSanDiego: San Diego chapter of the Mars Society.
• MarsSociety: Italian Mars Society.
• tmse_sm: Mars Society España.
• TerraformMars: Promotes all news, discussions, and art concerning space.
• TheMarsSociety: Official Mars Society account. On To Mars!

Mars scientists and engineers

• colinpillinger: Colin Pillinger, planetary scientist and principal investigator for the 2003 British Beagle 2 Mars lander project.
• Marscryovolc: Planetary Geologist, Spacetweep, NASA fan, Astronomer, Volcanologist.
• marsroverdriver: Scott Maxwell, NASA’s lead rover driver for Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity (AKA The Coolest Job on Earth and Mars).
• MarsRoverGirl: JPL robot engineer with coveted title of “Mars Rover Driver” by Julie Townsend. Helping girls discover robotics and technology.
• marssciencegrad: Studied Mars using visible and near-IR spectroscopy and now working on the Mars Science Lab rover.

Alas, no Twitter accounts for people like Stephen Squyres or Robert Zubrin. I guess they’re busy?

Mars enthusiasts bloggers and news sites

• LandOnMars: Researching how to speak to the public about sending humans to Mars.
• mars_stu: Stuart Atkinson, Astronomy writer and outreach educator and ‘frustrated martian’.
• MarsNewsDotCom: Veteran Mars News blog, now with its own Twitter account.
• marstoday: SpaceRef’s Mars Today Twitter account.
• martiansoil: This very own humble little dedicated Mars exploration and pop culture Twitter account. All the fresh dirt on the Planet Mars!
• nivnac: James Canvin, maintainer of Martian Vistas: pictures taken by Spirit, Opportunity and Phoenix on Mars.
• Orbit_Mars: French language site dedicated to Mars exploration.
• themeridianjournal: A chronicle of planetary exploration, by Paul Scott Anderson.
• tourdemars: Unofficial account of MarsNews.com.
• udolein: Udo Günther. German hobby Mars Enthusiast since Viking 1 + 2.

Miscellaneous Fun

• Ares: In persona accounts from the forth planet itself.
• KillerCuriosity: Unofficial parody site for NASA’s 2011 Mars Science Laboratory rover.
• ThePlanetMars: Another Mars persona account, albeit inactive.
• BuyPlanetMars: Scam to sell you real estate on Mars. Don’t visit them.

Am I missing any? Send in your Twitter account handle to get it listed here.

There’s a great number of space enthusiast folks on Twitter, but I’d like to keep this list limited to people directly connected to Mars exploration or accounts predominantly dedicated to Mars. For other accounts to follow, wander over to the Space Tweep Society, or check out the space section on WeFollow.

While you’re here, check out my other curated post on 2011 Mars events.