How we Speak to Mars is a project in collaboration with the British Space Programme (BSI) and the Mars Colonisation Initiative (MCI) considering the implications and design which led the first Martian colony to lose contact with Earth in 1995.

After landing on Mars in 1988, the Mars Colonisation Initiative set to establish adequate sustainable living and research and develop the expanding communications technology of the day. The Phobos Terminal, designed by Rachel A. Windsor and Roger E. Strath, was the first of its kind allowing Martian residents to communicate via text-based communication 325.35 million km back to Earth. However, in August of 1995 the last message was sent from the Phobos Terminal and for 25 years the Red Planet was silent.

This project investigates the history and design which saw brave men and women settle Mars through found objects, photography and messages sent between Earth and Mars during its period of operation. Special thanks to the British Space Programme and the Mars Colonisation Initiative for providing archived material previously unavailable to the public.