An Inspired Chat with Mars Luna & Joshua Luna of North Las Vegas

Mars Luna & Joshua Luna shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Mars & Joshua, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Since “Final Voyage” is the last Mars Luna album, I’ve been spending this year thinking about what the next season of life looks like. After a ton of soul searching, I’m currently exploring the possibility of going back to school and moving to Nashville. It’s a challenge since the last time I was enrolled in school was a decade ago. I visited Belmont University in May around Mother’s Day, explored the college campus and the city of Nashville, I loved it all and I realized what my next goal is going to be. I’m looking to double major in music business and business administration. I never thought I’d be excited about going back to school but here we are.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
According to the United States government, my name is Joshua Luna, but I currently perform under the stage name and persona “Mars Luna”, the “space alien singer” and “Cosmic Prince” from the “Sixth Dimension”. Through my music and specifically under the “Mars Luna” persona, my goal is to help people embrace their odyssey, and to embrace the strange. On April 11, 2019, I released my first album Lost In Space with the singles: Selfish, Good Girl and Drift. Lost In Space is the first episode of the “Cosmic Chronicles”, a series of albums that explore the trials, triumphs, dimensions, seasons, emotions, and the entire spectrum of the human experience. On November 19, 2021, I released the second album of the Cosmic Chronicles, Dark Matter with the singles: Rocket Science, The Villain 2 and Gone. Two years later, on December 8, 2023, Mars released the third episode of the Cosmic Chronicles, New Orbit with the singles: Green Light, Communication and This Time. On January 1, 2025, I announced that this is Mars Luna’s last year and that the Cosmic Chronicles would conclude with my last album/episode “Final Voyage”. That record is set to release on August 8, 2025 with the singles: Roller Coaster, With U and Galileo.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
I’m grateful for the time and opportunity I had to make music under the name of Mars Luna for the past nine years. I learned a lot about myself through this character and I learned to stop being afraid of looking stupid. In the end, I finished what I started with the “Cosmic Chronicles” album series. If it wasn’t for the life altering year of 2020, Mars Luna’s odyssey would have finished around two years ago. As life happened, I simply outgrew the character and Mars Luna reached the end of his lifespan. I’m sure I’ll bring back Mars Luna under a different creative medium in future (maybe as a fictional comic book character perhaps) but the season of making music as an artist under that name is done. It feels right.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I’ve wanted to give up many times, especially in 2020 when life was overwhelming for everyone. Going through the covid year altered the trajectory significantly for Mars Luna as well as myself. I released “Dark Matter” the first year after the rona and I have a song on that record called “3 AM” which was basically my suicide letter at the time. I’m glad I got past that. Before covid happened, my goal for Mars Luna was to “make it” in music. After covid, my goal was to finish what I started with the Cosmic Chronicles and I’m grateful that I get to see that through this year.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
I don’t think anyone knows me intimately like I do. People have their own perceptions of me but I only show people what I allow them to see. People who know me as “Mars Luna” know me as strange, odd, intergalactic and otherworldly. Then there’s the “non-performative” side of me who’s introspective, reserved, vigilant and grounded. I would say that both sides embody who I am to a certain degree, and paradoxically I would also say that both sides are masks that I wear. The “real me” is somewhere in the middle of those two versions. I guess that’s a roundabout way of saying that the “public version” of me is not the “real me” and I don’t know if anyone would like the real me if people really got to know me.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
I would extend the length of this timeline to about 15 to 20 years. One of the passion projects I want to do post-music is to create a “Cosmic Chronicles” comic book and children’s book series based on the albums that I released under the Mars Luna name. “Mars Luna” would be a fleshed out fictional character in this world and the “Sixth Dimension” would be a fleshed out universe in this timeline. Making art isn’t just what I do, but it’s essential to who I express myself as an individual. Just like the “Cosmic Chronicles” album series, I hope that I’ll be able to accomplish the “Cosmic Chronicles” book series before I reach the afterlife.

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Image Credits
Holokahiki Toves, Angelo Munji, Kara Munji

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