The Mars Society – San Diego Chapter Making Waves in Education

The Mars Society San Diego Chapter is doing a good deed and providing its not for profit services at a $25 fee! Helloooo San Diego! TMS-SD has a ¼ scale model of the rovers Spirit and Opportunity and is providing them for your event or function. They will bring the radio controlled rover along with an experienced teacher/lecturer to give a short and informative presentation about the Mars rover missions and then will let little kiddies operate the scale model rover. The Mars Society – San Diego Chapter is all volunteer and they all have "day-jobs" so don’t worry about the $25 there tough guy. In addition to the already stellar deal you will get a free autographed copy of William K. Hartimann’s new book "A Traveler's Guide to Mars".

Summary of the meeting between Alan Stern and MEPAG representative


Following the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) meeting on July 10, 2007 at the 7th International Mars Conference, Jack Mustard (MEPAG Chair) relayed to Alan Stern (Associate Administrator for NASA-SMD) the outcomes of the MEPAG meeting and the response of the community to the recent developments of committing to a Mars Sample Return (MSR) in the coming decade and the development of a simple sample cache system to be placed on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL).

The meeting highlighted the major issue and of cost-overruns that are now constraining the program. The budget is so tight in fact that Dr. Stern stated that his vision is to launch MSR by 2020 but in order to be able to afford this, the program would need to skip one launch opportunity next decade.
Stern did however, mention international participation from European Space Agency is expected in MSR and may provide a significant contribution.

Support from other, now prominent, space faring nations is becoming critical to the survival of America's space program.

The appeal of Mars

A manned mission to Mars is spoken with such certainty now that people know it is only a matter of time before for such a mission happens. The real question though is whether or not it is really feasible to go to Mars, and really why we would want to send a manned mission. This article talks about how the Apollo missions to the moon were quite an impressive feat politically, but ultimately they did not greatly improved scientific knowledge of the moon. So what would be the benefit of going to Mars. One suggestion is that since there is so much out in space that could very well destroy the Earth (such as an asteroid) and thus the human race, it is important the we go out and inhabit other planets to insure our species longevity.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20071109/87313813.html

NSS Launches Campaign to Save Human Mars Exploration

The National Space Society has started an emergency legislative campaign to stop a bill that is heading through Congress. If this bill passes, NASA could be barred from doing anything related to "Human Exploration of Mars." This bill is the same one that would increase NASA's overall budget, which is why it is incredibly controversial. NSS has set up a website where people can help by sending their emergency contributions. That website is www.nss.org/save_mars. The House of Representatives have already approved the bill and the Senate has refused to include the language barring NASA from human exploration of Mars. Because of the Senate's refusal, the bill is heading to the Congressional Conference Committee. Many people are counting on human Mars exploration for America's space future and there is a vast amount of support on both sides of the issue.

Prime Minister offers congratulations on successful launch of Mars Express

To further highlight America's leadership in the standing of the worlds other spacefaring nations may be slipping, I reference the launch of Mars Express.

The Mars Express was was Europe's first spacecraft sent to mars. Upon the launch of the Mars Express orbiter, Prime Minister Tony Blaire offered his congratulations:

"This mission to Mars is a historic opportunity for the UK, working with our European Partners, to demonstrate itself as a world leader in science, technology and innovation. Beagle 2 is an exciting project, which combines the best in UK science and industry, and a powerful example of the benefits of Government's continued investment and support in this area. Beagle 2 offers fascinating potential to learn more about the fundamental origins of life. I wish it good luck on a difficult and challenging mission."

Europeans are using Mars Express to prove and further establish itself as a powerful force in the areas of science, technology and innovation. The national attention and recognition are precisely the things that Griffin argued are needed for the American space program.

Space Exploration: A Measure of American Competitiveness - Speech by NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin

Griffin commemorates NASA's 50th anniversary. He celebrates current progress and highlights past achievements of the program. The program was spawned from competition with the Soviet Union, largely in part to overcome the national sentiment that the US was falling behind. There have been notable changes in the program since its inception, which include the US now working in collaboration with Russia, Europe, Japan, China, India and many other countries in space exploration. Competition is the cornerstone for many of the achievements in space exploration. However, Griffin expresses a fear of our nations leadership in the standing of the world's spacefaring nations is slipping. One major reason is the decline in support for space exploration of younger generations. Many people have lost interest and even question if the moan landing and Apollo program were anything more than a hoax. Griffin argues that space exploration "is the highest expression of human imagination" and that it is extremely troubling to see America losing its competitive edge in this field. Therefore, Griffin argues for the space community to keep in touch with the American people, and use terms the general public can understand. The space community needs to celebrate its accomplishments more vocally. These are the first steps that must be taken to keep society involved. It is crucial to do so because the space community can not survive on its own, it needs support from the American People to keep NASA at the forefront of space exploration.

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=25944

Fashion for Mars

Star trek, with their many skin tight uniforms may not be far off from what the fashion will look like for space missions. While still ten years off from completion, new light-weight tight fitting spacesuits are being designed. They are based off the concept of the tight skin giraffes have on their legs that helps them to control blood pressure. Instead of relying on gas pressure like the large cumbersome spacesuits they have now, these new suits would use counter pressure, be more flexible, and easier to fix.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4220822.html