diff --git a/src/metkit/mars/MarsRequest.cc b/src/metkit/mars/MarsRequest.cc
index 63bdb72..eccb48c 100644
--- a/src/metkit/mars/MarsRequest.cc
+++ b/src/metkit/mars/MarsRequest.cc
@@ -465,6 +465,12 @@ void MarsRequest::erase(const std::string& name) {
     }
 }
 
+std::string MarsRequest::asString() const {
+    std::ostringstream oss;
+    oss << *this;
+    return oss.str();
+}
+
 //----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 std::vector<MarsRequest> MarsRequest::parse(std::istream& in, bool strict) {
diff --git a/src/metkit/mars/MarsRequest.h b/src/metkit/mars/MarsRequest.h
index 47c2f4f..0b834f5 100644
--- a/src/metkit/mars/MarsRequest.h
+++ b/src/metkit/mars/MarsRequest.h
@@ -115,6 +115,8 @@ class MarsRequest {
 
     void erase(const std::string& param);
 
+    std::string asString() const;
+
 public:  // static methods
 
     static MarsRequest parse(const std::string& s, bool strict = false);