In early 2001, Elon Musk met Robert Zubrin and donated US$100,000 to his Mars Society, joining its board of directors for a short time: 30–31  He gave a plenary talk at their fourth convention where he announced Mars Oasis, a project to land a greenhouse and grow plants on Mars.

At the next convention of the Mars Association, Elon Musk proposed the idea of ​​Mars Oasis, a project aimed at creating conditions for human life on the planet Mars. This project included creating a greenhouse and growing plants on the surface of Mars.